Systems and methods for pre-filtering audio content based on prominence of frequency content

ABSTRACT

A system is disclosed for processing electronic audio signals. The system includes an input process for receiving digital samples of an electronic audio signal; a frame division process for allocating sequences of the digital samples of the electronic audio signal to respective frames; a frequency transform process for processing the digital samples by frame thereby to register, for each of the frames, a respective frequency set; a filtering process for filtering frequencies of each frequency set into a respective one of a plurality of orders based on relative prominence; an amplitude sequence process for generating multiple amplitude sequences based on the orders, each amplitude sequence n respectively comprising a sequence of amplitudes of the nth-order frequency content in the frames; and an output process for generating user-apprehendable content for a user interface of the system based on the multiple amplitude sequences. Related systems, methods and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 62/795,675 filed on Jan. 23, 2019, the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The following relates generally to systems for digital audio processing,and more particularly to systems and processes for pre-filtering audiocontent based on prominence of frequency content.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Sound identification is a process by which particular content of anaudio signal is identified by a system. A computing system whenpresented with an electronic audio sample, such as one captured using amicrophone, can electronically pre-process the audio sample and discernits various features and patterns using various processing techniques.The features and patterns may then be presented to a soundclassification system that is accessible to the computing system,thereby to identify the contents of the audio sample in terms ofsimilarities between its features and patterns and classes of soundderived from features and patterns of known sounds.

When a system is oriented to process a sound sample for identifyingentire words and sentences, the system is adapted to be presented with asound sample having a large number of easily-discernable features andpatterns. These numerous distinctions enable the system to readilyclassify an incoming sound sample with reasonably little ambiguity.Various classification systems suited for entire words and sentences areknown, and are typically built using machine learning techniques. Withmachine learning, an adaptable training model is trained typically usinga large number of known sound samples so that it may predict, whenpresented with a sound sample it has not yet been exposed to, thecorrect classification of its contents. In order to be capable ofreasonably accurate predictions, a machine learning system requirestraining on very large sets of sound samples so that it can develop theinternal statistical models for handling robust classification.

Presenting a machine learning system with very large sample sets for aparticular purpose can be time consuming It can be challenging to findor produce very large sample sets and to clean the large sample sets toremove noise or outliers that would reduce the system's ability todiscern between different sounds. Furthermore, the statistical modelsresulting from machine learning techniques are typically stored in verylarge databases. As such, classification systems built using machinelearning are typically deployed using a client-server topology, wherethe classification system is maintained centrally and is accessed byvarious users remotely over a network connection, such as through theInternet. Individual devices not typically having the memory capacityfor such large databases nor the onboard processing capacity to adapt anincoming sound sample for presentation to, and processing by, suchclassification systems, transfer received sound samples across thenetwork to a server-based classification system. However, networkcommunications introduces a noticeable delay between the receipt of thesound sample by the client device and the receipt by the client deviceof an indication as to how the sound sample has been classified, such asa response to the contents of the sound sample based on a server-basedclassification. Additionally, network bandwidth becomes occupied byserver queries that are accompanied by what may be large audio files.Furthermore, with such an architecture, in the event that the clientdevice is not connected to a network, the sound sample classificationcannot be done at all.

Very short sounds, such as sounds with a duration of less than 1 second,are particularly challenging to discern and to classify using machinelearning systems. This is because known techniques for extraction offeatures and patterns do not tend to be capable of producing the volumeof discernable information about the sound within a reasonable timeframe that, for example, an entire word or sentence might be able tomore readily provide. Systems for handling shorter sounds, such as thosefor detecting gunshots or the sound of glass breaking, tend neverthelessto be implemented using a central machine-learning classificationsystem.

While short sounds can generally be more difficult to discern usingtraditional feature and pattern extraction techniques, particular veryshort vocal sounds—those that are at the “sub-word” level such asphonemes uttered by a speaker, present particular challenges due to thefact that they are all produced by a human vocal structure rather thanby different types of sources, and the distinctions between phonemes canbe subtle. In general, phonemes are considered the perceptually distinctunits of sound in a particular language that distinguish one word fromanother word.

Machine identification of phonemes in particular holds interest forspeech and language professionals, particularly for use in training andtesting a person in an unfamiliar language. It has been proposed byprofessionals involved with such training and testing that mastery ofspeaking the phonemes of a language in isolation is a precursor tomastery of both speaking and reading the words and sentences of thelanguage. While in a classroom environment students benefit from theinstant feedback provided during one-on-one training by a human languageinstructor who physically hears the sound, this form of training is notscalable; a single instructor can only provide feedback to so manystudents at a time. While there are sound identification softwarepackages available for addressing teaching and training in languages,these tend to focus at the word-level because they have employed machinelearning classification that is trained based on a conflation ofindividual short sounds—blended sounds. As such, they are not suitablefor individual phonemes.

It would be useful, therefore, if there were a computer-based systemthat could provide low-delay feedback about the correctness of veryshort spoken sounds such as phonemes that could be deployed to, and beoperable on, a personal computing device such as a smartphone, laptop orother device without overwhelming the resources of the device andwithout necessarily requiring the device to transfer information to andfrom a central server for sound identification and verification.

Furthermore, it would be useful if such a system once deployed wasconfigurable to enable the system to be easily updated so as to becapable of discerning additional sounds using the same base ofidentification tests.

Furthermore, it would be useful if there were a computer-based systemfor pre-processing audio signals to put them in a condition in whichinformation in the audio signals that is about content or meaning can bereasonably easily separated from information in the audio signals thatis about the sound generating apparatus and/or due to noise. While usinglow-pass, band-pass, high-pass and other frequency-based filters isknown for dealing with noise and for modifying an audio signal byfiltering-out particular frequencies so that the filtered audio signaldoes not contain data at the filtered-out frequencies, it is possiblethat filtering-out data on the basis of frequency alone in such waysrisks inadvertently removing important information about content/meaningand/or information about the sound generating apparatus that may bepresent and useful in a raw audio signal

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with an aspect, there is provided a system for processingelectronic audio signals, the system comprising an audio transducer; anaudio interface for generating digital samples of electronic audiosignals captured using the audio transducer; a frame division processallocating sequences of the digital samples of the input electronicaudio signal to respective frames; a frequency transform process forprocessing the digital samples by frame thereby to register, for each ofthe frames, a respective frequency set; a filtering process forfiltering frequencies of each frequency set into a respective one of aplurality of orders based on relative prominence; an amplitude sequenceprocess for generating multiple amplitude sequences based on the orders,each amplitude sequence n respectively comprising a sequence ofamplitudes of the nth-order frequency content in the frames; and anoutput process for generating user-apprehendable content for a userinterface of the system based on the multiple amplitude sequences.

The system and related methods disclosed herein transform audio signalsinto one or more amplitude sequences filtered into separate orderscorresponding to frequency prominence. This pre-filtering of the audiosignal according to frequency prominence enables subsequent analysis orother processing to be conducted differentially on (or without regard toone or the other of): audio information relating to meaning sought to beconveyed (such as words or phonemes independent of sound generatingapparatus used to form them), information related to the soundgenerating apparatus (such as lips, cheeks, throat, sex, age, andpotentially unique combinations of same etc. independent of the meaningof words or phonemes produced by same), as well as any background noise.By so separating information to be conveyed from information about thesound generating apparatus as well as information about backgroundnoise, downstream processes can be configured to specialize inspecifically processing only one or the other of these for variousspecific applications, reducing processing and potentially eliminatingthe requirement for further filtering. Furthermore, depending on thespecific application, information relating to meaning or informationrelating to the sound generating apparatus can be discarded in favour ofthe other, thereby to reduce the amount of memory required for anydownstream storage of salient information and the amount of bandwidthrequired for any transmission and the amount of processor resources forfurther processing.

Processes and systems disclosed herein produce a number ofprocessor-discernable features and patterns from sounds such as phonemesin audio signals that can be employed to conduct classification ofcontent within the audio signals more readily than, and potentiallyusing far less physical data content for classification than, prior artsystems that require the raw audio signal itself to be presented totheir classification systems. As such, the processes and systemsdisclosed herein may be used as substitutes for the raw audio signalsduring classification, further processing, transmission, storage forvarious uses, or may be used alongside such raw audio signals forincreasing confidence in classifications being done by otherclassification systems using the raw audio signals.

The processes and systems disclosed herein may be used for producing,storing and/or transmitting features and patterns produced using a rawaudio signal in order to replace the raw audio signal while retainingsalient information carried in the features and patterns, for particularpurposes such as for reducing the volume of storage or bandwidthrequired in order to store or transmit the salient information carriedwithin the raw audio signals. Such salient information may beinformation about the meaning/content sought to be conveyed by theoriginal source of the raw audio signal (sought to be conveyed by theperson speaking, for example), information relating to the soundgenerating apparatus (about the person speaking, for example), and otherinformation in the raw audio signal. In this disclosure, salientinformation refers to information carried in an audio signal presentedto the systems or processes disclosed herein, whether or not suchinformation was intended to be carried in the audio signal by itsoriginal creator, that is being sought after for a particular goal orpurpose. It will be understood that such salient information, dependingon the application may, in the physical form of the features andpatterns represented in a computing system, occupy a smaller datafootprint than the raw audio signal and, as such, the salientinformation produced by the systems and processes disclosed herein maybe regarded as a particular form of compression of the raw audio signal,or a particular form of redundancy-reduction, or a particular form ofdata reduction, or a particular form of data division. Furthermore, inembodiments, such salient information may be used by a downstreamprocess to seed production of a new, derivative audio signal and that,in respect only of the salient information represented by the featuresand patterns, is a reproduction of the raw audio signal from which thesalient information was produced. That is, the derivative audio signalmight be produced solely from the produced features and patterns and itwould itself also contain the information about meaning/content and/orinformation about the sound generating apparatus that the raw audiosignal had contained. Such a reproduction audio signal could be producedwith a smaller data footprint than had the raw audio signal as certaininformation in the raw audio signal that was not deemed salientinformation would not be required to be present in the reproductionaudio signal for the relied-upon purpose.

In an embodiment, the frame division process allocates a number ofdigital samples to respective frames based on a configurable samplingrate and a configurable frequency transform buffer size.

In an embodiment, the frequency transform process allocates a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurablenumber of frequencies per frame.

In an embodiment, the frequency transform process allocates a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurablefrequency bandwidth.

In an embodiment, the frequency transform process allocates a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurableamplitude threshold, wherein digital samples of the electronic soundsignal having an amplitude below the configurable amplitude thresholdare excluded.

In an embodiment, the output process comprises a display processconfigured to generate for display on a display device a visualrepresentation of one or more of the multiple amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the display process further displays measurementscorresponding to the displayed one or more amplitude sequences on thedisplay device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise frequency values for eachfrequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a repetition count for eachfrequency value for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total number of frames forwhich an amplitude is being displayed by the display process.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of astrongest frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process, wherein the strongest frequency is a frequency with thehighest sum of amplitudes from all amplitude sequences being displayedon the display device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of asingle frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process in longest unbroken succession across frames of anamplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a frequency having themaximum amplitude of frequencies for which an amplitude is beingdisplayed by the display process; and the maximum amplitude.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of amplitudeoscillations present in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the total count of amplitude oscillations is based atleast on a configurable oscillation amplitude threshold.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of frequenciespresent in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of errorframes corresponding to the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of increasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of decreasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the display process is further configured to display auser control for selecting, individually or collectively, one or more ofthe multiple amplitude sequences for display on the display device.

In an embodiment, the display process is further configured to provide auser control for zooming in on a portion of a displayed one or moreamplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the output process comprises a test process fortesting the at least one amplitude sequence to generate measurements,the test process comparing the measurements to one or more respectivethreshold parameters to generate a sound detection score; and a userinterface process for generating for a user a representation of thesound detection score.

According to another aspect, there is provided a method for processingelectronic audio signals, the method comprising causing an audiotransducer to capture electronic audio signals; causing an audiointerface to generate digital samples of the electronic audio signals;allocating sequences of the digital samples of an input electronic audiosignal to respective frames; processing the digital samples by framethereby to register, for each of the frames, a respective frequency set;filtering frequencies of each frequency set into a respective one of aplurality of orders based on relative prominence; generating multipleamplitude sequences based on the orders, each amplitude sequence nrespectively comprising a sequence of amplitudes of the nth-orderfrequency content in the frames; and generating user-apprehendablecontent for a user interface based on the multiple amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the allocating comprises allocating a number ofdigital samples to respective frames based on a configurable samplingrate and a configurable frequency transform buffer size.

In an embodiment, the allocating comprises allocating a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurablenumber of frequencies per frame.

In an embodiment, the allocating comprises allocating a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurablefrequency bandwidth.

In an embodiment, the allocating comprises allocating a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurableamplitude threshold, wherein digital samples of the electronic soundsignal having an amplitude below the configurable amplitude thresholdare excluded.

In an embodiment, the generating user-apprehendable content comprisesgenerating for display on a display device a visual representation ofone or more of the multiple amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the generating for display further comprisesgenerating for display measurements corresponding to the displayed oneor more amplitude sequences on the display device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise frequency values for eachfrequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a repetition count for eachfrequency value for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total number of frames forwhich an amplitude is being displayed by the display process.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of astrongest frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process, wherein the strongest frequency is a frequency with thehighest sum of amplitudes from all amplitude sequences being displayedon the display device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of asingle frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process in longest unbroken succession across frames of anamplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a frequency having themaximum amplitude of frequencies for which an amplitude is beingdisplayed by the display process; and the maximum amplitude.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of amplitudeoscillations present in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the total count of amplitude oscillations is based atleast on a configurable oscillation amplitude threshold.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of frequenciespresent in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of errorframes corresponding to the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of increasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of decreasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, generating user-apprehendable content comprisesdisplaying a user control for selecting, individually or collectively,one or more of the multiple amplitude sequences for display on thedisplay device.

In an embodiment, the generating for display on a display devicecomprises providing a user control for zooming in on a portion of adisplayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the generating user-apprehendable content based on themultiple amplitude sequences comprises testing the at least oneamplitude sequence to generate measurements and comparing themeasurements to one or more respective threshold parameters to generatea sound detection score; and generating for a user a representation ofthe sound detection score.

In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a non-transitoryprocessor-readable medium embodying a computer program for processingelectronic audio signals, the computer program comprising program codefor causing an audio transducer to capture electronic audio signals;program code for causing an audio interface to generate digital samplesof the electronic audio signals; program code for allocating sequencesof the digital samples of an input electronic audio signal to respectiveframes; program code for processing the digital samples by frame therebyto register, for each of the frames, a respective frequency set; programcode for filtering frequencies of each frequency set into a respectiveone of a plurality of orders based on relative prominence; program codefor generating multiple amplitude sequences based on the orders, eachamplitude sequence n respectively comprising a sequence of amplitudes ofthe nth-order frequency content in the frames; and program code forgenerating user-apprehendable content for a user interface based on themultiple amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the program code for allocating comprises program codefor allocating a number of digital samples to respective frames based ona configurable sampling rate and a configurable frequency transformbuffer size.

In an embodiment, the program code for allocating comprises program codefor allocating a number of frequencies to each frequency set based atleast on a configurable number of frequencies per frame.

In an embodiment, the program code for allocating comprises program codefor allocating a number of frequencies to each frequency set based atleast on a configurable frequency bandwidth.

In an embodiment, the program code for allocating comprises program codefor allocating a number of frequencies to each frequency set based atleast on a configurable amplitude threshold, wherein digital samples ofthe electronic sound signal having an amplitude below the configurableamplitude threshold are excluded.

In an embodiment, the program code for generating user-apprehendablecontent comprises program code for generating for display on a displaydevice a visual representation of one or more of the multiple amplitudesequences.

In an embodiment, the program code for generating for display furthercomprises program code for generating for display measurementscorresponding to the displayed one or more amplitude sequences on thedisplay device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise frequency values for eachfrequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a repetition count for eachfrequency value for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total number of frames forwhich an amplitude is being displayed by the display process.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of astrongest frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process, wherein the strongest frequency is a frequency with thehighest sum of amplitudes from all amplitude sequences being displayedon the display device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of asingle frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process in longest unbroken succession across frames of anamplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a frequency having themaximum amplitude of frequencies for which an amplitude is beingdisplayed by the display process; and the maximum amplitude.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of amplitudeoscillations present in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the total count of amplitude oscillations is based atleast on a configurable oscillation amplitude threshold.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of frequenciespresent in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of errorframes corresponding to the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of increasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of decreasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the program code for generating user-apprehendablecontent comprises program code for displaying a user control forselecting, individually or collectively, one or more of the multipleamplitude sequences for display on the display device.

In an embodiment, the program code for generating for display on adisplay device comprises program code for providing a user control forzooming in on a portion of a displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the program code for generating user-apprehendablecontent based on the multiple amplitude sequences comprises: programcode for testing the at least one amplitude sequence to generatemeasurements and comparing the measurements to one or more respectivethreshold parameters to generate a sound detection score; and programcode for generating for a user a representation of the sound detectionscore.

In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a system forprocessing electronic audio signals, the system comprising a networkinterface for receiving digital samples generated by an audio transducerfrom electronic audio signals captured using an audio transducer; aframe division process for allocating sequences of the digital samplesof an input electronic audio signal to respective frames; a frequencytransform process for processing the digital samples by frame thereby toregister, for each of the frames, a respective frequency set; afiltering process for filtering frequencies of each frequency set into arespective one of a plurality of orders based on relative prominence; anamplitude sequence process for generating multiple amplitude sequencesbased on the orders, each amplitude sequence n respectively comprising asequence of amplitudes of the nth-order frequency content in the frames;and an output process for generating user-apprehendable content for auser interface of the system based on the multiple amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the frame division process allocates a number ofdigital samples to respective frames based on a configurable samplingrate and a configurable frequency transform buffer size.

In an embodiment, the frequency transform process allocates a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurablenumber of frequencies per frame.

In an embodiment, the frequency transform process allocates a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurablefrequency bandwidth.

In an embodiment, the frequency transform process allocates a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurableamplitude threshold, wherein digital samples of the electronic soundsignal having an amplitude below the configurable amplitude thresholdare excluded.

In an embodiment, the output process comprises a display processconfigured to generate for display on a display device a visualrepresentation of one or more of the multiple amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the display process further displays measurementscorresponding to the displayed one or more amplitude sequences on thedisplay device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise frequency values for eachfrequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a repetition count for eachfrequency value for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total number of frames forwhich an amplitude is being displayed by the display process.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of astrongest frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process, wherein the strongest frequency is a frequency with thehighest sum of amplitudes from all amplitude sequences being displayedon the display device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of asingle frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process in longest unbroken succession across frames of anamplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a frequency having themaximum amplitude of frequencies for which an amplitude is beingdisplayed by the display process; and the maximum amplitude.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of amplitudeoscillations present in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the total count of amplitude oscillations is based atleast on a configurable oscillation amplitude threshold.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of frequenciespresent in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of errorframes corresponding to the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of increasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of decreasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the display process is further configured to display auser control for selecting, individually or collectively, one or more ofthe multiple amplitude sequences for display on the display device.

In an embodiment, the display process is further configured to provide auser control for zooming in on a portion of a displayed one or moreamplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the output process comprises a test process fortesting the at least one amplitude sequence to generate measurements,the test process comparing the measurements to one or more respectivethreshold parameters to generate a sound detection score; and a userinterface process for generating for a user a representation of thesound detection score.

According to another aspect, there is provided a method for processingelectronic audio signals, the method comprising causing a networkinterface to receive digital samples generated by an audio transducerfrom electronic audio signals captured using an audio transducer;allocating sequences of the digital samples of an input electronic audiosignal to respective frames; processing the digital samples by framethereby to register, for each of the frames, a respective frequency set;filtering frequencies of each frequency set into a respective one of aplurality of orders based on relative prominence; generating multipleamplitude sequences based on the orders, each amplitude sequence nrespectively comprising a sequence of amplitudes of the nth-orderfrequency content in the frames; and generating user-apprehendablecontent for a user interface based on the multiple amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the allocating comprises allocating a number ofdigital samples to respective frames based on a configurable samplingrate and a configurable frequency transform buffer size.

In an embodiment, the allocating comprises allocating a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurablenumber of frequencies per frame.

In an embodiment, the allocating comprises allocating a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurablefrequency bandwidth.

In an embodiment, the allocating comprises allocating a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurableamplitude threshold, wherein digital samples of the electronic soundsignal having an amplitude below the configurable amplitude thresholdare excluded.

In an embodiment, generating user-apprehendable content comprisesgenerating for display on a display device a visual representation ofone or more of the multiple amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, generating for display further comprises generatingfor display measurements corresponding to the displayed one or moreamplitude sequences on the display device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise frequency values for eachfrequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a repetition count for eachfrequency value for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total number of frames forwhich an amplitude is being displayed by the display process.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of astrongest frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process, wherein the strongest frequency is a frequency with thehighest sum of amplitudes from all amplitude sequences being displayedon the display device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of asingle frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process in longest unbroken succession across frames of anamplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a frequency having themaximum amplitude of frequencies for which an amplitude is beingdisplayed by the display process; and the maximum amplitude.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of amplitudeoscillations present in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the total count of amplitude oscillations is based atleast on a configurable oscillation amplitude threshold.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of frequenciespresent in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of errorframes corresponding to the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of increasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of decreasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, generating user-apprehendable content comprisesdisplaying a user control for selecting, individually or collectively,one or more of the multiple amplitude sequences for display on thedisplay device.

In an embodiment, generating for display on a display device comprisesproviding a user control for zooming in on a portion of a displayed oneor more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, generating user-apprehendable content based on themultiple amplitude sequences comprises testing the at least oneamplitude sequence to generate measurements and comparing themeasurements to one or more respective threshold parameters to generatea sound detection score; and generating for a user a representation ofthe sound detection score.

In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a non-transitoryprocessor-readable medium embodying a computer program for processingelectronic audio signals, the computer program comprising program codefor causing a network interface to receive digital samples generated byan audio transducer from electronic audio signals captured using anaudio transducer; program code for allocating sequences of the digitalsamples of an input electronic audio signal to respective frames;program code for processing the digital samples by frame thereby toregister, for each of the frames, a respective frequency set; programcode for filtering frequencies of each frequency set into a respectiveone of a plurality of orders based on relative prominence; program codefor generating multiple amplitude sequences based on the orders, eachamplitude sequence n respectively comprising a sequence of amplitudes ofthe nth-order frequency content in the frames; and program code forgenerating user-apprehendable content for a user interface based on themultiple amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the program code for allocating comprises program codefor allocating a number of digital samples to respective frames based ona configurable sampling rate and a configurable frequency transformbuffer size.

In an embodiment, the program code for allocating comprises program codefor allocating a number of frequencies to each frequency set based atleast on a configurable number of frequencies per frame.

In an embodiment, the program code for allocating comprises program codefor allocating a number of frequencies to each frequency set based atleast on a configurable frequency bandwidth.

In an embodiment, the program code for allocating comprises program codefor allocating a number of frequencies to each frequency set based atleast on a configurable amplitude threshold, wherein digital samples ofthe electronic sound signal having an amplitude below the configurableamplitude threshold are excluded.

In an embodiment, the program code for generating user-apprehendablecontent comprises program code for generating for display on a displaydevice a visual representation of one or more of the multiple amplitudesequences.

In an embodiment, the program code for generating for display furthercomprises program code for generating for display measurementscorresponding to the displayed one or more amplitude sequences on thedisplay device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise frequency values for eachfrequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a repetition count for eachfrequency value for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total number of frames forwhich an amplitude is being displayed by the display process.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of astrongest frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process, wherein the strongest frequency is a frequency with thehighest sum of amplitudes from all amplitude sequences being displayedon the display device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of asingle frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process in longest unbroken succession across frames of anamplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a frequency having themaximum amplitude of frequencies for which an amplitude is beingdisplayed by the display process; and the maximum amplitude.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of amplitudeoscillations present in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the total count of amplitude oscillations is based atleast on a configurable oscillation amplitude threshold.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of frequenciespresent in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of errorframes corresponding to the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of increasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of decreasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the program code for generating user-apprehendablecontent comprises program code for displaying a user control forselecting, individually or collectively, one or more of the multipleamplitude sequences for display on the display device.

In an embodiment, the program code for generating for display on adisplay device comprises program code for providing a user control forzooming in on a portion of a displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the program code for generating user-apprehendablecontent based on the multiple amplitude sequences comprises program codefor testing the at least one amplitude sequence to generate measurementsand comparing the measurements to one or more respective thresholdparameters to generate a sound detection score; and program code forgenerating for a user a representation of the sound detection score.

In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a system forprocessing electronic audio signals, the system comprising an electronicstorage system storing digital samples of electronic audio signalscaptured using an audio transducer; a frame division process forallocating sequences of the digital samples of an input electronic audiosignal to respective frames; a frequency transform process forprocessing the digital samples by frame thereby to register, for each ofthe frames, a respective frequency set; a filtering process forfiltering frequencies of each frequency set into a respective one of aplurality of orders based on relative prominence; an amplitude sequenceprocess for generating multiple amplitude sequences based on the orders,each amplitude sequence n respectively comprising a sequence ofamplitudes of the nth-order frequency content in the frames; and anoutput process for generating user-apprehendable content for a userinterface of the system based on the multiple amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the frame division process allocates a number ofdigital samples to respective frames based on a configurable samplingrate and a configurable frequency transform buffer size.

In an embodiment, the frequency transform process allocates a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurablenumber of frequencies per frame.

In an embodiment, the frequency transform process allocates a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurablefrequency bandwidth.

In an embodiment, the frequency transform process allocates a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurableamplitude threshold, wherein digital samples of the electronic soundsignal having an amplitude below the configurable amplitude thresholdare excluded.

In an embodiment, the output process comprises a display processconfigured to generate for display on a display device a visualrepresentation of one or more of the multiple amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the display process further displays measurementscorresponding to the displayed one or more amplitude sequences on thedisplay device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise frequency values for eachfrequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a repetition count for eachfrequency value for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total number of frames forwhich an amplitude is being displayed by the display process.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of astrongest frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process, wherein the strongest frequency is a frequency with thehighest sum of amplitudes from all amplitude sequences being displayedon the display device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of asingle frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process in longest unbroken succession across frames of anamplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a frequency having themaximum amplitude of frequencies for which an amplitude is beingdisplayed by the display process; and the maximum amplitude.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of amplitudeoscillations present in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the total count of amplitude oscillations is based atleast on a configurable oscillation amplitude threshold.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of frequenciespresent in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of errorframes corresponding to the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of increasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of decreasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the display process is further configured to display auser control for selecting, individually or collectively, one or more ofthe multiple amplitude sequences for display on the display device.

In an embodiment, the display process is further configured to provide auser control for zooming in on a portion of a displayed one or moreamplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the output process comprises a test process fortesting the at least one amplitude sequence to generate measurements,the test process comparing the measurements to one or more respectivethreshold parameters to generate a sound detection score; and a userinterface process for generating for a user a representation of thesound detection score.

According to another aspect, there is provided a method for processingelectronic audio signals, the method comprising storing digital samplesof electronic audio signals captured using an audio transducer;allocating sequences of the digital samples of an input electronic audiosignal to respective frames; processing the digital samples by framethereby to register, for each of the frames, a respective frequency set;filtering frequencies of each frequency set into a respective one of aplurality of orders based on relative prominence; generating multipleamplitude sequences based on the orders, each amplitude sequence nrespectively comprising a sequence of amplitudes of the nth-orderfrequency content in the frames; and generating user-apprehendablecontent for a user interface based on the multiple amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the allocating comprises allocating a number ofdigital samples to respective frames based on a configurable samplingrate and a configurable frequency transform buffer size.

In an embodiment, the allocating comprises allocating a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurablenumber of frequencies per frame.

In an embodiment, the allocating comprises allocating a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurablefrequency bandwidth.

In an embodiment, the allocating comprises allocating a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurableamplitude threshold, wherein digital samples of the electronic soundsignal having an amplitude below the configurable amplitude thresholdare excluded.

In an embodiment, generating user-apprehendable content comprisesgenerating for display on a display device a visual representation ofone or more of the multiple amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the generating for display further comprisesgenerating for display measurements corresponding to the displayed oneor more amplitude sequences on the display device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise frequency values for eachfrequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a repetition count for eachfrequency value for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total number of frames forwhich an amplitude is being displayed by the display process.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of astrongest frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process, wherein the strongest frequency is a frequency with thehighest sum of amplitudes from all amplitude sequences being displayedon the display device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of asingle frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process in longest unbroken succession across frames of anamplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a frequency having themaximum amplitude of frequencies for which an amplitude is beingdisplayed by the display process; and the maximum amplitude.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of amplitudeoscillations present in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the total count of amplitude oscillations is based atleast on a configurable oscillation amplitude threshold.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of frequenciespresent in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of errorframes corresponding to the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of increasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of decreasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, generating user-apprehendable content comprisesdisplaying a user control for selecting, individually or collectively,one or more of the multiple amplitude sequences for display on thedisplay device.

In an embodiment, generating for display on a display device comprisesproviding a user control for zooming in on a portion of a displayed oneor more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, generating user-apprehendable content based on themultiple amplitude sequences comprises testing the at least oneamplitude sequence to generate measurements and comparing themeasurements to one or more respective threshold parameters to generatea sound detection score; and generating for a user a representation ofthe sound detection score.

In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a non-transitoryprocessor-readable medium embodying a computer program for processingelectronic audio signals, the computer program comprising program codefor storing digital samples of electronic audio signals captured usingan audio transducer; program code for allocating sequences of thedigital samples of an input electronic audio signal to respectiveframes; program code for processing the digital samples by frame therebyto register, for each of the frames, a respective frequency set; programcode for filtering frequencies of each frequency set into a respectiveone of a plurality of orders based on relative prominence; program codefor generating multiple amplitude sequences based on the orders, eachamplitude sequence n respectively comprising a sequence of amplitudes ofthe nth-order frequency content in the frames; and program code forgenerating user-apprehendable content for a user interface based on themultiple amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the program code for allocating comprises program codefor allocating a number of digital samples to respective frames based ona configurable sampling rate and a configurable frequency transformbuffer size.

In an embodiment, the program code for allocating comprises program codefor allocating a number of frequencies to each frequency set based atleast on a configurable number of frequencies per frame.

In an embodiment, the program code for allocating comprises program codefor allocating a number of frequencies to each frequency set based atleast on a configurable frequency bandwidth.

In an embodiment, the program code for allocating comprises program codefor allocating a number of frequencies to each frequency set based atleast on a configurable amplitude threshold, wherein digital samples ofthe electronic sound signal having an amplitude below the configurableamplitude threshold are excluded.

In an embodiment, the program code for generating user-apprehendablecontent comprises program code for generating for display on a displaydevice a visual representation of one or more of the multiple amplitudesequences.

In an embodiment, the program code for generating for display furthercomprises program code for generating for display measurementscorresponding to the displayed one or more amplitude sequences on thedisplay device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise frequency values for eachfrequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a repetition count for eachfrequency value for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total number of frames forwhich an amplitude is being displayed by the display process.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of astrongest frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process, wherein the strongest frequency is a frequency with thehighest sum of amplitudes from all amplitude sequences being displayedon the display device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of asingle frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process in longest unbroken succession across frames of anamplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a frequency having themaximum amplitude of frequencies for which an amplitude is beingdisplayed by the display process; and the maximum amplitude.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise: a total count of amplitudeoscillations present in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the total count of amplitude oscillations is based atleast on a configurable oscillation amplitude threshold.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of frequenciespresent in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of errorframes corresponding to the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of increasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of decreasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the program code for generating user-apprehendablecontent comprises program code for displaying a user control forselecting, individually or collectively, one or more of the multipleamplitude sequences for display on the display device.

In an embodiment, the program code for generating for display on adisplay device comprises program code for providing a user control forzooming in on a portion of a displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the program code for generating user-apprehendablecontent based on the multiple amplitude sequences comprises: programcode for testing the at least one amplitude sequence to generatemeasurements and comparing the measurements to one or more respectivethreshold parameters to generate a sound detection score; and programcode for generating for a user a representation of the sound detectionscore.

According to another aspect, there is provided a system for processingelectronic audio signals, the system comprising a network interface forreceiving, over a network, an audio file containing digital samplesgenerated by an audio transducer from electronic audio signals capturedusing an audio transducer; an electronic storage system storing thedigital samples; a frame division process for allocating sequences ofthe digital samples of an input electronic audio signal to respectiveframes; a frequency transform process for processing the digital samplesby frame thereby to register, for each of the frames, a respectivefrequency set; a filtering process for filtering frequencies of eachfrequency set into a respective one of a plurality of orders based onrelative prominence; an amplitude sequence process for generatingmultiple amplitude sequences based on the orders, each amplitudesequence n respectively comprising a sequence of amplitudes of thenth-order frequency content in the frames; and an output process forgenerating user-apprehendable content for a user interface of the systembased on the multiple amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the frame division process allocates a number ofdigital samples to respective frames based on a configurable samplingrate and a configurable frequency transform buffer size.

In an embodiment, the frequency transform process allocates a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurablenumber of frequencies per frame.

In an embodiment, the frequency transform process allocates a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurablefrequency bandwidth.

In an embodiment, the frequency transform process allocates a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurableamplitude threshold, wherein digital samples of the electronic soundsignal having an amplitude below the configurable amplitude thresholdare excluded.

In an embodiment, the output process comprises a display processconfigured to generate for display on a display device a visualrepresentation of one or more of the multiple amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the display process further displays measurementscorresponding to the displayed one or more amplitude sequences on thedisplay device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise frequency values for eachfrequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a repetition count for eachfrequency value for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total number of frames forwhich an amplitude is being displayed by the display process.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of astrongest frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process, wherein the strongest frequency is a frequency with thehighest sum of amplitudes from all amplitude sequences being displayedon the display device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of asingle frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process in longest unbroken succession across frames of anamplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a frequency having themaximum amplitude of frequencies for which an amplitude is beingdisplayed by the display process; and the maximum amplitude.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of amplitudeoscillations present in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the total count of amplitude oscillations is based atleast on a configurable oscillation amplitude threshold.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of frequenciespresent in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of errorframes corresponding to the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of increasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of decreasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the display process is further configured to display auser control for selecting, individually or collectively, one or more ofthe multiple amplitude sequences for display on the display device.

In an embodiment, the display process is further configured to provide auser control for zooming in on a portion of a displayed one or moreamplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the output process comprises a test process fortesting the at least one amplitude sequence to generate measurements,the test process comparing the measurements to one or more respectivethreshold parameters to generate a sound detection score; and a userinterface process for generating for a user a representation of thesound detection score.

According to another aspect, there is provided a method for processingelectronic audio signals, the method comprising receiving, over anetwork, an audio file containing digital samples generated by an audiotransducer from electronic audio signals captured using an audiotransducer; storing the digital samples; allocating sequences of thedigital samples of an input electronic audio signal to respectiveframes; processing the digital samples by frame thereby to register, foreach of the frames, a respective frequency set; filtering frequencies ofeach frequency set into a respective one of a plurality of orders basedon relative prominence; generating multiple amplitude sequences based onthe orders, each amplitude sequence n respectively comprising a sequenceof amplitudes of the nth-order frequency content in the frames; andgenerating user-apprehendable content for a user interface based on themultiple amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the allocating comprises allocating a number ofdigital samples to respective frames based on a configurable samplingrate and a configurable frequency transform buffer size.

In an embodiment, the allocating comprises allocating a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurablenumber of frequencies per frame.

In an embodiment, the allocating comprises allocating a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurablefrequency bandwidth.

In an embodiment, the allocating comprises allocating a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurableamplitude threshold, wherein digital samples of the electronic soundsignal having an amplitude below the configurable amplitude thresholdare excluded.

In an embodiment, the generating user-apprehendable content comprisesgenerating for display on a display device a visual representation ofone or more of the multiple amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the generating for display further comprisesgenerating for display measurements corresponding to the displayed oneor more amplitude sequences on the display device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise frequency values for eachfrequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a repetition count for eachfrequency value for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total number of frames forwhich an amplitude is being displayed by the display process.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of astrongest frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process, wherein the strongest frequency is a frequency with thehighest sum of amplitudes from all amplitude sequences being displayedon the display device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of asingle frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process in longest unbroken succession across frames of anamplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a frequency having themaximum amplitude of frequencies for which an amplitude is beingdisplayed by the display process; and the maximum amplitude.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of amplitudeoscillations present in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the total count of amplitude oscillations is based atleast on a configurable oscillation amplitude threshold.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of frequenciespresent in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of errorframes corresponding to the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of increasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of decreasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, generating user-apprehendable content comprisesdisplaying a user control for selecting, individually or collectively,one or more of the multiple amplitude sequences for display on thedisplay device.

In an embodiment, generating for display on a display device comprisesproviding a user control for zooming in on a portion of a displayed oneor more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the generating user-apprehendable content based on themultiple amplitude sequences comprises testing the at least oneamplitude sequence to generate measurements and comparing themeasurements to one or more respective threshold parameters to generatea sound detection score; and generating for a user a representation ofthe sound detection score.

In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a non-transitoryprocessor-readable medium embodying a computer program for processingelectronic audio signals, the computer program comprising program codefor receiving, over a network, an audio file containing digital samplesgenerated by an audio transducer from electronic audio signals capturedusing an audio transducer; program code for storing the digital samples;program code for allocating sequences of the digital samples of an inputelectronic audio signal to respective frames; program code forprocessing the digital samples by frame thereby to register, for each ofthe frames, a respective frequency set; program code for filteringfrequencies of each frequency set into a respective one of a pluralityof orders based on relative prominence; program code for generatingmultiple amplitude sequences based on the orders, each amplitudesequence n respectively comprising a sequence of amplitudes of thenth-order frequency content in the frames; and program code forgenerating user-apprehendable content for a user interface based on themultiple amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the program code for allocating comprises program codefor allocating a number of digital samples to respective frames based ona configurable sampling rate and a configurable frequency transformbuffer size.

In an embodiment, the program code for allocating comprises program codefor allocating a number of frequencies to each frequency set based atleast on a configurable number of frequencies per frame.

In an embodiment, the program code for allocating comprises program codefor allocating a number of frequencies to each frequency set based atleast on a configurable frequency bandwidth.

In an embodiment, the program code for allocating comprises program codefor allocating a number of frequencies to each frequency set based atleast on a configurable amplitude threshold, wherein digital samples ofthe electronic sound signal having an amplitude below the configurableamplitude threshold are excluded.

In an embodiment, the program code for generating user-apprehendablecontent comprises program code for generating for display on a displaydevice a visual representation of one or more of the multiple amplitudesequences.

In an embodiment, the program code for generating for display furthercomprises program code for generating for display measurementscorresponding to the displayed one or more amplitude sequences on thedisplay device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise frequency values for eachfrequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a repetition count for eachfrequency value for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total number of frames forwhich an amplitude is being displayed by the display process.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of astrongest frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process, wherein the strongest frequency is a frequency with thehighest sum of amplitudes from all amplitude sequences being displayedon the display device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of asingle frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process in longest unbroken succession across frames of anamplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a frequency having themaximum amplitude of frequencies for which an amplitude is beingdisplayed by the display process; and the maximum amplitude.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of amplitudeoscillations present in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the total count of amplitude oscillations is based atleast on a configurable oscillation amplitude threshold.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of frequenciespresent in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of errorframes corresponding to the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of increasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of decreasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the program code for generating user-apprehendablecontent comprises program code for displaying a user control forselecting, individually or collectively, one or more of the multipleamplitude sequences for display on the display device.

In an embodiment, the program code for generating for display on adisplay device comprises program code for providing a user control forzooming in on a portion of a displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the program code for generating user-apprehendablecontent based on the multiple amplitude sequences comprises program codefor testing the at least one amplitude sequence to generate measurementsand comparing the measurements to one or more respective thresholdparameters to generate a sound detection score; and program code forgenerating for a user a representation of the sound detection score.

According to another aspect, there is provided a system for processingelectronic audio signals, the system comprising an input process forreceiving digital samples of an electronic audio signal; a framedivision process for allocating sequences of the digital samples of theelectronic audio signal to respective frames; a frequency transformprocess for processing the digital samples by frame thereby to register,for each of the frames, a respective frequency set; a filtering processfor filtering frequencies of each frequency set into a respective one ofa plurality of orders based on relative prominence; an amplitudesequence process for generating multiple amplitude sequences based onthe orders, each amplitude sequence n respectively comprising a sequenceof amplitudes of the nth-order frequency content in the frames; and anoutput process for generating user-apprehendable content for a userinterface of the system based on the multiple amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the frame division process allocates a number ofdigital samples to respective frames based on a configurable samplingrate and a configurable frequency transform buffer size.

In an embodiment, the frequency transform process allocates a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurablenumber of frequencies per frame.

In an embodiment, the frequency transform process allocates a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurablefrequency bandwidth.

In an embodiment, the frequency transform process allocates a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurableamplitude threshold, wherein digital samples of the electronic soundsignal having an amplitude below the configurable amplitude thresholdare excluded from the processing.

In an embodiment, the output process comprises a display processconfigured to generate for display on a display device a visualrepresentation of one or more of the multiple amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the display process further displays measurementscorresponding to the displayed one or more amplitude sequences on thedisplay device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise frequency values for eachfrequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a repetition count for eachfrequency value for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total number of frames forwhich an amplitude is being displayed by the display process.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of astrongest frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process, wherein the strongest frequency is a frequency with thehighest sum of amplitudes from all amplitude sequences being displayedon the display device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of asingle frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process in longest unbroken succession across frames of anamplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a frequency having themaximum amplitude of frequencies for which an amplitude is beingdisplayed by the display process; and the maximum amplitude.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of amplitudeoscillations present in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the total count of amplitude oscillations is based atleast on a configurable oscillation amplitude threshold.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of frequenciespresent in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of errorframes corresponding to the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of increasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of decreasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the display process is further configured to display auser control for selecting, individually or collectively, one or more ofthe multiple amplitude sequences for display on the display device.

In an embodiment, the display process is further configured to provide auser control for zooming in on a portion of a displayed one or moreamplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the output process comprises a test process fortesting the at least one amplitude sequence to generate measurements,the test process comparing the measurements to one or more respectivethreshold parameters to generate a sound detection score; and a userinterface process for generating for a user a representation of thesound detection score.

According to another aspect, there is provided a method for processingelectronic audio signals, the method comprising receiving digitalsamples of an electronic audio signal; allocating sequences of thedigital samples of the electronic audio signal to respective frames;processing the digital samples by frame thereby to register, for each ofthe frames, a respective frequency set; filtering frequencies of eachfrequency set into a respective one of a plurality of orders based onrelative prominence; generating multiple amplitude sequences based onthe orders, each amplitude sequence n respectively comprising a sequenceof amplitudes of the nth-order frequency content in the frames; andgenerating user-apprehendable content for a user interface based on themultiple amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the allocating comprises allocating a number ofdigital samples to respective frames based on a configurable samplingrate and a configurable frequency transform buffer size.

In an embodiment, the allocating comprises allocating a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurablenumber of frequencies per frame.

In an embodiment, the allocating comprises allocating a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurablefrequency bandwidth.

In an embodiment, the allocating comprises allocating a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurableamplitude threshold, wherein digital samples of the electronic soundsignal having an amplitude below the configurable amplitude thresholdare excluded.

In an embodiment, the generating user-apprehendable content comprisesgenerating for display on a display device a visual representation ofone or more of the multiple amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the generating for display further comprisesgenerating for display measurements corresponding to the displayed oneor more amplitude sequences on the display device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise frequency values for eachfrequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a repetition count for eachfrequency value for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total number of frames forwhich an amplitude is being displayed by the display process.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of astrongest frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process, wherein the strongest frequency is a frequency with thehighest sum of amplitudes from all amplitude sequences being displayedon the display device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of asingle frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process in longest unbroken succession across frames of anamplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a frequency having themaximum amplitude of frequencies for which an amplitude is beingdisplayed by the display process; and the maximum amplitude.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of amplitudeoscillations present in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the total count of amplitude oscillations is based atleast on a configurable oscillation amplitude threshold.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of frequenciespresent in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of errorframes corresponding to the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of increasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of decreasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, generating user-apprehendable content comprisesdisplaying a user control for selecting, individually or collectively,one or more of the multiple amplitude sequences for display on thedisplay device.

In an embodiment, the generating for display on a display devicecomprises providing a user control for zooming in on a portion of adisplayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the generating user-apprehendable content based on themultiple amplitude sequences comprises testing the at least oneamplitude sequence to generate measurements and comparing themeasurements to one or more respective threshold parameters to generatea sound detection score; and generating for a user a representation ofthe sound detection score.

In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a non-transitoryprocessor-readable medium embodying a computer program for processingelectronic audio signals, the computer program comprising program codefor receiving digital samples of an electronic audio signal; programcode for allocating sequences of the digital samples of the electronicaudio signal to respective frames; program code for processing thedigital samples by frame thereby to register, for each of the frames, arespective frequency set; program code for filtering frequencies of eachfrequency set into a respective one of a plurality of orders based onrelative prominence; program code for generating multiple amplitudesequences based on the orders, each amplitude sequence n respectivelycomprising a sequence of amplitudes of the nth-order frequency contentin the frames; and program code for generating user-apprehendablecontent for a user interface based on the multiple amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the program code for allocating comprises program codefor allocating a number of digital samples to respective frames based ona configurable sampling rate and a configurable frequency transformbuffer size.

In an embodiment, the program code for allocating comprises program codefor allocating a number of frequencies to each frequency set based atleast on a configurable number of frequencies per frame.

In an embodiment, the program code for allocating comprises program codefor allocating a number of frequencies to each frequency set based atleast on a configurable frequency bandwidth.

In an embodiment, the program code for allocating comprises program codefor allocating a number of frequencies to each frequency set based atleast on a configurable amplitude threshold, wherein digital samples ofthe electronic sound signal having an amplitude below the configurableamplitude threshold are excluded.

In an embodiment, the program code for generating user-apprehendablecontent comprises program code for generating for display on a displaydevice a visual representation of one or more of the multiple amplitudesequences.

In an embodiment, the program code for generating for display furthercomprises program code for generating for display measurementscorresponding to the displayed one or more amplitude sequences on thedisplay device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise frequency values for eachfrequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a repetition count for eachfrequency value for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total number of frames forwhich an amplitude is being displayed by the display process.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of astrongest frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process, wherein the strongest frequency is a frequency with thehighest sum of amplitudes from all amplitude sequences being displayedon the display device.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise an identification of asingle frequency for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process in longest unbroken succession across frames of anamplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a frequency having themaximum amplitude of frequencies for which an amplitude is beingdisplayed by the display process; and the maximum amplitude.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of amplitudeoscillations present in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the total count of amplitude oscillations is based atleast on a configurable oscillation amplitude threshold.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of frequenciespresent in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of errorframes corresponding to the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of increasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the measurements comprise a total count of decreasingframes in a first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the program code for generating user-apprehendablecontent comprises program code for displaying a user control forselecting, individually or collectively, one or more of the multipleamplitude sequences for display on the display device.

In an embodiment, the program code for generating for display on adisplay device comprises program code for providing a user control forzooming in on a portion of a displayed one or more amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the program code for generating user-apprehendablecontent based on the multiple amplitude sequences comprises: programcode for testing the at least one amplitude sequence to generatemeasurements and comparing the measurements to one or more respectivethreshold parameters to generate a sound detection score; and programcode for generating for a user a representation of the sound detectionscore.

According to another aspect, there is provided a system for generating asound detection score, the system comprising an input process forreceiving digital samples of an electronic audio signal; a transformprocess for transforming the digital samples into a plurality ofamplitude sequences, each amplitude sequence n respectively comprising asequence of amplitudes of the nth-most prominent frequency content inframes of the electronic audio signal; a test process for testing the atleast one amplitude sequence to generate measurements, the test processcomparing the measurements to one or more respective thresholdparameters to generate a sound detection score; and a configurationprocess for configuring the transform process and the test process priorto the transforming and processing using the one or more parameterscorresponding to a reference audio signal.

In an embodiment, the transform process comprises a frame divisionprocess for allocating sequences of the digital samples of theelectronic audio signal to respective frames; a frequency transformprocess for processing the digital samples by frame thereby to register,for each of the frames, a respective frequency set; a filtering processfor filtering frequencies of each frequency set into a respective one ofa plurality of orders based on relative prominence; an amplitudesequence process for generating multiple amplitude sequences based onthe orders, each amplitude sequence n respectively comprising a sequenceof amplitudes of the nth-order frequency content in the frames; and anoutput process for generating user-apprehendable content for a userinterface of the system based on the multiple amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the frame division process allocates a number ofdigital samples to respective frames based on a configurable samplingrate and a configurable sampling buffer size.

In an embodiment, the frequency transform process allocates a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurablenumber of frequencies per frame.

In an embodiment, the frequency transform process allocates a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurablefrequency bandwidth.

In an embodiment, the frequency transform process allocates a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurableamplitude threshold, wherein digital samples of the electronic soundsignal having an amplitude below the configurable amplitude thresholdare excluded from the processing.

In an embodiment, the system further comprises a data structure storingthe transform, test and threshold parameters in association withrespective reference sound identifiers, the configuration processaccessing the data store and conducting the automatic configuring inresponse to a request for configuration.

In accordance with another aspect, there is provided aprocessor-implemented method for generating a sound detection score, themethod comprising receiving digital samples of an input electronic audiosignal; configuring both a transform process and a test process inaccordance with a plurality of parameters corresponding to a referenceaudio signal; providing the digital samples to the configured transformprocess thereby to transform the digital samples into at least oneamplitude sequence, each amplitude sequence n respectively comprising asequence of amplitudes of the nth-most prominent frequency content inframes of the input electronic sound signal; providing the at least oneamplitude sequence to the configured test process thereby to generate asound detection score, the configured test process: measuring theprovided at least one amplitude sequence to generate measurements; andcomparing the measurements to one or more threshold parameters thatcorrespond to the reference sound; and generating user-apprehendablecontent for a user interface based on the sound detection score.

In an embodiment, the configured transform process comprises a framedivision process for allocating sequences of the digital samples of theelectronic audio signal to respective frames; a frequency transformprocess for processing the digital samples by frame thereby to register,for each of the frames, a respective frequency set; a filtering processfor filtering frequencies of each frequency set into a respective one ofa plurality of orders based on relative prominence; and an amplitudesequence process for generating the multiple amplitude sequences basedon the orders.

In an embodiment, the configured transform process transforms the inputsound signal into multiple amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the parameters comprises a number of frames for the atleast one amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the parameters comprises a frequency bandwidth for theat least one amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the one or more test parameters comprises anidentification of which of a plurality of available tests to execute.

In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a non-transitoryprocessor-readable medium embodying a computer program for generating asound detection score, the computer program comprising program code forreceiving digital samples of an input electronic audio signal; programcode for configuring both a transform process and a test process inaccordance with a plurality of parameters corresponding to a referenceaudio signal; program code for providing the digital samples to theconfigured transform process thereby to transform the digital samplesinto at least one amplitude sequence, each amplitude sequence nrespectively comprising a sequence of amplitudes of the nth-mostprominent frequency content in frames of the input electronic soundsignal; program code for providing the at least one amplitude sequenceto the configured test process thereby to generate a sound detectionscore, the configured test process comprising: program code formeasuring the provided at least one amplitude sequence to generatemeasurements; and program code for comparing the measurements to one ormore threshold parameters that correspond to the reference sound; andprogram code for generating user-apprehendable content for a userinterface based on the sound detection score.

In an embodiment, the configured transform process comprises a framedivision process for allocating sequences of the digital samples of theelectronic audio signal to respective frames; a frequency transformprocess for processing the digital samples by frame thereby to register,for each of the frames, a respective frequency set; a filtering processfor filtering frequencies of each frequency set into a respective one ofa plurality of orders based on relative prominence; and an amplitudesequence process for generating the multiple amplitude sequences basedon the orders.

In an embodiment, the configured transform process transforms the inputsound signal into multiple amplitude sequences.

In an embodiment, the parameters comprises a number of frames for the atleast one amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the parameters comprises a frequency bandwidth for theat least one amplitude sequence.

In an embodiment, the one or more test parameters comprises anidentification of which of a plurality of available tests to execute.

Other aspects and embodiments are described and depicted herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to theappended drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a sound identification system,according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a representation of a number of sound profiles stored in alocal database of the sound identification system of FIG. 1, accordingto an embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an audio interface and components of atransform process for filtering of an electronic audio signal, accordingto an embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a representation of test regime tables stored in associationwith sound profiles in the local database of the sound identificationsystem of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are screenshots of a smartphone user interface fortesting of a sound sample and providing a user with the option to playan example sound;

FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C are first, second and third-order amplitudesequences produced by a transform process of the sound identificationsystem using an input sound sample;

FIGS. 7A, 7B and 7C are first, second and third-order amplitudesequences produced by a transform process of the sound identificationsystem using a different input sound sample;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a hardware architecture of acomputing system, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a screenshot of an initial screen of a computer-based toolproviding various parameters for enabling an engineer or researcher toeither select or record an audio file and to very flexibly explore thenature of the sound in the audio file, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a screenshot of an audio file selection pop-up overlying theinitial screen of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a screenshot of a screen of the computer-based tool of FIG. 9with an audio file having been selected, and a transform process havingbeen automatically executed to generate and display an amplitudesequence and corresponding measurements based on the contents of theaudio file;

FIG. 12 is a screenshot of the screen of FIG. 11 while a portion of anamplitude sequence being displayed is being selected for study;

FIG. 13 is a screenshot of the screen of FIG. 11 while the portion ofthe amplitude sequence selected in FIG. 12 is being maximally displayed;

FIG. 14 is a screenshot of the screen of FIG. 11 with a transformprocess having been automatically executed to generate multipleamplitude sequences and display one of the multiple generated amplitudesequences and corresponding measurements based on the content of aselected audio file;

FIG. 15 is a screenshot of the screen of FIG. 14 with a user havingselected to display multiple of the generated amplitude sequencesoverlying each other, and corresponding measurements; and

FIG. 16 is a screenshot of the screen of FIG. 14 with a user havingselected to display another one of the multiple generated amplitudesequences and corresponding measurements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a sound identification system 10,according to an embodiment. In this embodiment, sound identificationsystem 10 is contained within a single computing system 1000, forexample a smartphone, and contains a number of processes for handlingoperation of the sound identification system 10. In this embodiment,sound identification system 10 includes a user interface process 20 witha number of sub-processes for interacting with a user U. User interfaceprocess 20, for example, requests permission of the operator ofcomputing system 1000 to access the local default audio transducer—inthis embodiment a microphone—of computing system 1000 in order toexercise control over capture of a sound sample from the user U for useby a downstream process. User interface process 20, in this embodiment,also interacts with user U to receive from user U a selection of a soundsample to be tested, so that upon receipt by the user of a sound samplethe downstream processes are configured to conduct appropriatetransformations of the sound sample for testing, and are able to conducttests on the transformation appropriate to the sound to be tested.

User interface process 20 is in communication with a configurationprocess 30. Configuration process 30 receives a user selection from userinterface process 20 as to a selected sound to be tested and, in turn,retrieves from a local database 40 a reference soundProfile for theselected sound. In this embodiment, a soundProfile is a set of multipletypes of parameters pertinent to configuring the sound identificationsystem 10 to identify a particular sound in a given sound sample. Inthis embodiment, the types of parameters are: basic parameters,transform parameters, test parameters, and threshold parameters. FIG. 2is a representation of a number of sound profiles stored in localdatabase 40 of the sound identification system 10, each having sets ofthese parameters, according to an embodiment. Each of these parametersis for equipping sound identification system 10 as an expert system fora particular sound. As will be described, the structure of soundidentification system 10 is amenable to transformation, throughparameters alone, into an expert system for testing a wide variety ofshort sounds. This amenability to transformation is very useful fordetecting short sounds, because a researcher studying a particular soundfor producing a new soundProfile is able to prepare a representation ofthe sound that maximizes its distinctiveness—whether by representing itusing more or fewer frames, more or fewer frequency bands, one or moretransformations into amplitude sequences, and so forth. In this way, asoundProfile can be prepared that configures sound identification system10 to make transformations of and conduct tests on a given sound samplein a manner that can discern based on the maximized distinctiveness.

In particular, transform parameters are for enabling configurationprocess 30 to configure a transform process 50 so that transform process50 is able to produce a particular transformation of an incoming soundsample suitable for testing by a downstream test process 60. In thisembodiment, transform process 50 transforms an incoming sound sampleinto at least one amplitude sequence. In this embodiment, each amplitudesequence n respectively comprises a sequence of amplitudes of thenth-most prominent frequency content in frames of the input soundsignal. By forming amplitude sequences into which frequency content offrames is filtered by prominence, the core meaning or content of thesound—the information portion—can be separated from the non-core contentof the sound—the content attributable more to the sound generatingapparatus used to form the information portion or to background noise.Separation by such prominence filtering provides a powerful tool forenhancing “signal-to-noise” when examining or testing for core content,but also for preserving the non-core content so that informationrelating to the sound generating apparatus can be explored or analyzed.An audio file may be transformed to be prominence-filtered into severalamplitude sequences. As such, transform parameters include the parametern: the number of different amplitude sequences into which a given soundsample will be transformed. The transform parameters also include abandwidth parameter: a value indicative of how the frequency band is tobe divided during the transformation, so as to distinguish betweendifferent frequencies for the amplitude sequences. The transformparameters also include a frame length parameter: a value indicative ofthe duration of a frame for the transformation. It will be understoodthat two different sounds may require two different transformations ofrespective incoming sound samples, for example fewer or more differentamplitude sequences, wider or narrower bandwidth, and longer or shorterframe durations. As such, sound identification system 10 is capable,through the parameterization of not only a reference sound itself, butthe transformation of the incoming sound sample pre-testing, of creatinga very wide range of testable transformations of an incoming soundsignal.

The purpose of transforming an incoming sound sample into more than oneamplitude sequence is to provide sound identification system 10 withmore insight into an incoming sound than is typically available in asingle-order analysis. By generating at least a second-, and possiblyadditional order amplitude sequences, sound identification system 10 isable to conduct tests on more sequences for the same sound thereby, insome cases, to distinguish between two sounds whose first-orderamplitude sequences will have almost identical behaviours. For example,it has been found that the “Th” noise and “Th” quiet can generally havesimilar-behaving first-order amplitude sequences (similar oscillations,frequencies, and/or amplitudes etc.), with second-order amplitudesequences that are very distinct from each other (dissimilaroscillations, frequencies, and/or amplitudes etc.), such that discerningbetween the two is advantageously done primarily based on theirrespective second-order amplitude sequences. That is, while some soundsare distinguishable by first order behaviour alone, others are not. Assuch, the production of amplitude sequences, and the other features andpatterns disclosed herein, provide a large array ofprocessor-discernable aspects, from which different types of informationcarried within the raw audio signal can be discerned.

Furthermore, the architecture described herein facilitates granularcontrol over how transformation and testing are done so as toaccommodate accurate testing for a large variety of short sounds whileusing a small base of configurable and therefore widely-applicablestandard count tests, requiring a very small computer memory footprintand no network access during testing of the short sounds to a remotedatastore, with rapid feedback, as compared to machine-learningenvironments. For example, the amount of memory required of a soundidentification system 10 running on an Apple iPhone 6 smartphone to becapable of identifying 38 sounds is, in an embodiment, between 48 and 65Mb or less. The average time to accurate identification is substantiallyin real-time, and particularly generally between 10 and 50 milliseconds.As such, sound identification system 10 can leverage the processingpower and memory of an average personal computing device, and is thusmore widely deployable to students.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an audio interface 51 and components 52through 55 of transform process 50 for filtering of an electronic audiosignal. Components 52 through 55 cooperate to generate the multipleamplitude sequences based on relative prominence of frequency content inframes of the electronic audio signal. In particular, a frame divisionprocess 52 allocates sequences of digital samples of an input electronicaudio signal to respective frames, so that the samples associated withthe frames may be processed together to identify frequencies therein. AnFFT (Fast Fourier Transform) process 53 processes the digital samples byframe thereby to register, for each of the frames, a respectivefrequency set. Thus, depending on parameters, each frame can beassociated with one or more frequencies and their amplitudes in theframe. A filtering process 54 filters frequencies of each frequency setinto a respective one of a plurality of orders based on relativeprominence. In this way, the frequencies and their amplitudes of eachframe take on membership in an order for downstream processing. Anamplitude sequence process 55 generates multiple amplitude sequencesbased on the orders, each amplitude sequence n respectively comprising asequence of amplitudes of the nth-order frequency content in the frames.As such, contours of amplitudes, oscillations and the like can beprocessed along a particular order with the other orders filtered out,so as provide opportunity to hone in on core content of a sound that canbe discerned from the a given amplitude sequence. In this application,the core content of the sound refers to the content that, for example inspoken audio, can best indicate what short sound the speaker has set outto utter, such as a “bee” or a “buh”, itself isolated from non-corecontent. In this application, non-core content includes backgroundnoise, but also content that, for spoken audio, is more indicative ofthe nature of the person making the utterance (age, sex, throat, lips,tongue sizes and configurations etc.) than of what the speaker has setout to utter. More generally, the configuration of the physicalapparatus used to produce the sound.

The output of the amplitude sequence process 55 can be provided to oneor more output processes, as will be described, for generatinguser-apprehendable content based on the multiple amplitude sequences.Such user-apprehendable content is any content that can be recognized bya human user as produced by the system, such as visual or audio feedbackregarding the multiple amplitude sequences themselves, or visual oraudio feedback regarding testing done pursuant to the generation of themultiple amplitude sequences.

For example, in this embodiment, with a sound sample having beentransformed into one or more amplitude sequences, the amplitudesequence(s) can be subjected to a test process 60. Configuration process30, using test and threshold parameters each also associated with thesound profile, configures test process 60 to conduct specified tests onthe amplitude sequence(s) using specified thresholds.

Test process 60 is configured, using test parameters, with a testregime. A test regime specifies a set of tests to be conducted. Testprocess 60 itself incorporates a number of selectable tests, structuredas ‘count’ tests, and the test parameters for a particular sound includea selection of which of the selectable tests to execute on a givenamplitude sequence—a test regime—into which a sound sample has beentransformed. FIG. 4 is a representation of test regime tables stored inassociation with sound profiles in the local database 40 of soundidentification system 10. In this embodiment, the selectable tests areas follows, and are each based on collecting counts of various featuresand patterns of the amplitude sequences, and comparing those counts tospecified thresholds to determine whether the test has been satisfied.

T1: CorrectValidFrames. This test outputs a TRUE or FALSE depending onwhether the number of frames in an amplitude sequence containingfrequency content that is both within a frequency range and within anamplitude range, is within a particular count range. Test T1 itself isconfigurable using test parameters for a particular sound, and theparticular count range is a threshold parameter. As such, testparameters will specify the frequency range and the amplitude rangewithin which content of a frame will have to be in order to constitutean increase in the count for this test. Once the amplitude sequence hasbeen processed to derive such a count, the count is compared to thethreshold parameter for count corresponding to the sound. In the eventthat the count is within the count range then this test outputs a TRUE,and otherwise this test outputs a FALSE. The count range may bespecified solely as a single range boundary (such as a minimum count),or as both ends of the range.

T2: CorrectOscillation. This test outputs a TRUE or FALSE depending onwhether the number of oscillations within a particular time frame iswithin a particular count range. Test T2 itself is configurable usingtest parameters for a particular sound, and the particular count rangeis a threshold parameter. An oscillation, in this context, is defined asa threshold change in amplitude between frames in a given amplitudesequence into which a sound sample has been transformed. That is, if theamplitude of frame X+1 differs by a threshold amount from the amplitudeof frame X, then the count is increased. As such, test parameters willspecify the time frame for the set of frames within the amplitudesequence which are to be tested, and the threshold difference inamplitude that will constitute an increase in count for this test. Inthis embodiment, test parameters for this test will also specify thetolerance of the test to the presence of invalid frames when determininginter-frame changes in amplitude. For example, if the tolerance testparameter is 1, then during the counting the inter-frame comparisonbetween amplitude of a first frame and that of a subsequent invalidframe is tolerated such that it is the next frame subsequent to theinvalid frame with which the amplitude comparison is made. However, ifthat next frame is itself invalid, then the test itself is consideredinvalid and CorrectOscillation is automatically set to FALSE. Thetolerance may be set to more or less than 1 frame. For example, if thetolerance is set to 0 frames, CorrectOscillation is automatically set toFALSE in the event that any invalid frames occur during the time frame.The count range may be specified solely as a single range boundary (suchas a minimum count), or as both ends of the range.

T3: CorrectFrequencyDiversity. This test outputs a TRUE or FALSEdepending on whether the count of different frequencies represented inthe amplitude sequence is within a particular count range. It will beunderstood that this count, like other test counts, will depend on theactual transformation applied by transform process 50 according totransform parameters for the sound sample to produce the one or moreamplitude sequences, and particularly the bandwidth parameter. It willbe understood that, generally-speaking, a higher bandwidth parameter(meaning a wider bandwidth) for the transform process will result in alower count of frequency variety, since the occurrence of similar butdifferent frequencies may be lumped together in a particular band andthus may count, in this test, as a single frequency. However, such ahigher bandwidth parameter can be useful for gathering frequency contentfor amplitude difference measurements and the like. That is, simplycontrolling the frequency variety at the transform process stage mayotherwise obfuscate inter-frame differences in amplitude of theamplitude sequences. The count range may be specified solely as a singlerange boundary (such as a minimum count), or as both ends of the range.

T4: CorrectIncrease. This test outputs a TRUE or FALSE depending onwhether the number of inter-frame amplitude increases within aparticular time frame, when testing the amplitude of frequency contentof a frame X against the amplitude of frequency content of a frame X+1,is within a particular count range. Test T4 itself is configurable usingtest parameters for a particular sound, and the particular count rangeis a threshold parameter. An increase, in this context, is defined as athreshold increase in amplitude between frames in a given amplitudesequence into which a sound sample has been transformed. That is, if theamplitude of frame X+1 is greater by a threshold amount from theamplitude of frame X, then the count is increased. As such, testparameters will specify the time frame for the set of frames within theamplitude sequence which are to be tested, and the threshold increase inamplitude that will constitute an increase in count for this test. Thecount range may be specified solely as a single range boundary (such asa minimum count), or as both ends of the range. In this embodiment, testparameters for this test will also specify the tolerance of the test tothe presence of invalid frames when determining inter-frame increases inamplitude. For example, if the tolerance test parameter is 1, thenduring the counting the inter-frame comparison between amplitude of afirst frame and that of a subsequent invalid frame is tolerated suchthat it is the next frame subsequent to the invalid frame with which theamplitude comparison is made. However, if that next frame is itselfinvalid, then the test itself is considered invalid and CorrectIncreaseis automatically set to FALSE. The tolerance may be set to more or lessthan 1 frame. For example, if the tolerance is set to 0 frames,CorrectIncrease is automatically set to FALSE in the event that anyinvalid frames occur during the time frame.

T5: CorrectDecrease. This test outputs a TRUE or FALSE depending onwhether the number of inter-frame amplitude decreases within aparticular time frame, when testing the amplitude of frequency contentof a frame X against the amplitude of frequency content of a frame X+1,is within a particular count range. Test T4 itself is configurable usingtest parameters for a particular sound, and the particular count rangeis a threshold parameter. A decrease, in this context, is defined as athreshold decrease in amplitude between frames in a given amplitudesequence into which a sound sample has been transformed. That is, if theamplitude of frame X+1 is less by a threshold amount than the amplitudeof frame X, then the count is increased. As such, test parameters willspecify the time frame for the set of frames within the amplitudesequence which are to be tested, and the threshold decrease in amplitudethat will constitute an increase in count for this test. The count rangemay be specified solely as a single range boundary (such as a minimumcount), or as both ends of the range. In this embodiment, testparameters for this test will also specify the tolerance of the test tothe presence of invalid frames when determining inter-frame decreases inamplitude. For example, if the tolerance test parameter is 1, thenduring the counting the inter-frame comparison between amplitude of afirst frame and that of a subsequent invalid frame is tolerated suchthat it is the next frame subsequent to the invalid frame with which theamplitude comparison is made. However, if that next frame is itselfinvalid, then the test itself is considered invalid and CorrectDecreaseis automatically set to FALSE. The tolerance may be set to more or lessthan 1 frame. For example, if the tolerance is set to 0 frames,CorrectDecrease is automatically set to FALSE in the event that anyinvalid frames occur during the time frame. It will be understood thatthe tolerance for CorrectDecrease may be different than the tolerancefor CorrectIncrease.

T6: CorrectErrorFrames. This test outputs a TRUE or FALSE depending onwhether the number of error frames within an amplitude sequence iswithin a particular count range. An error frame is one that appearsbetween valid frames having a lower than valid amplitude (i.e. zeroframes), and a threshold number of error frames provides an indicationthat the user being tested has not spoken with sufficient power.

Application of weights, in order to generate a confidence score, may beprovided in a number of ways. For example, weights may be applied to theTRUE or FALSE statements by considering a TRUE to be a test score of 100and a FALSE to be at test score of 0, with applicable weights applied tothe test score. For example, if test T1, T3, T5 and T6 are to beconducted, and corresponding weights are: 50, 20, 20, 10, then testoutcomes of TRUE, TRUE, FALSE, FALSE would result in an overallconfidence score of (100(0.5)+100(0.2)+0(0.2)+0(0.1))=70.

Another application of weights would be to provide test parameters foreach test that would incorporate the importance of the particular testto the identification of the particular sound. In fact, this could bedone by conducting all tests available, but weighting certainnon-determinative tests with 0 weight as a test parameter. It will beunderstood that various ways by which weighting could be done.

During operation of sound identification system 10, a user interactswith user interface process 20 in order to select a short sound topractice or to be tested on. FIGS. 5A and 5B are screenshots of asmartphone user interface for testing of a sound sample and providing auser with the option to play an example sound. A list of short sounds ismade available to the user for selection from a query to local database40 for populating the selections for the user. In particular, if thereare 10 sound profiles stored in local database 40, then the user will bepresented by user interface process 20 with a list of 10 sound names,each associated with respective soundIDs to uniquely identify the soundprofile and related records in the local database 40. Upon selection ofa particular sound name via user interface process 20, user interfaceprocess 20 instructs configuration process 20 to retrieve the soundprofile record corresponding to the soundID of the sound name that wasselected. It will be understood that sound profile records may becategorized using a category identifier, which itself is associated in arecord with a category name. Examples of categories in a phonemeidentification context would be ‘man’, ‘woman’, ‘child’. In thisexample, there would be stored in local database 40 three (3) soundprofile records for the ‘p’ phoneme, three (3) sound profile records forthe ‘f’ phoneme, and so forth. In this way, using user interface process20, a user can specify whether the person being tested or trained is aman, woman, or child and the correct sound profile record can beretrieved so that transform, test and threshold parameters can becorrectly retrieved and applied by configuration process 30 forconfiguring the transform process 50 and the test process 60 foroperation.

Upon retrieval of the selected sound profile record, configurationprocess 30 configures transform process 50 and test process 60 accordingto parameters parsed by configuration process 30 from the retrievedsound profile record. The retrieved sound profile record has a fixed setof fields with values corresponding to particular transform and testparameters.

The various parameters are maintained within a soundProfile record forenabling an incoming sound sample to be properly transformed and tested.In this embodiment, basic parameters include those parameters thatestablish the database uniqueness of a given sound record and those thatcategorize a sound. Transform parameters specify how the transformprocess 50 is to transform an incoming sound sample to produce one ormore amplitude sequences. Test parameters specify how the test process60 is to be configured to conduct particular tests of the one or moreamplitude sequences, and threshold parameters specify the thresholdsagainst which the test results are to be compared.

Basic parameters for a soundProfile record, in this embodiment, areshown in Table 1, below.

TABLE 1 Basic Parameters Parameter Name Description A SoundID Unique IDfor the sound record. B Sound Name Name of sound (ex. ‘f’) C CategoryCategory of sound (ex. Male, Female, Child)

Transform parameters for a soundProfile record, in this embodiment, areshown in Table 2, below.

TABLE 2 Transform Parameters Parameter Name Description D1 Buffer SizeNumber of samples per frame for Fast Frequency Transform (FFT) D2Sampling Rate Rate of sampling (samples/second) i.e. 44,100 Hz forexample. E Frame Size The duration of a frame in the amplitudesequences. F Orders Number of amplitude sequences to be generated. GBandwidth Size of frequency bands

Test and threshold parameters for a soundProfile record, in thisembodiment, are shown in Table 3, below.

TABLE 3 Test and Threshold Parameters Parameter Name Description H ValidFrame Count Min Minimum count of valid frames for valid frames test IValid Frame Count Max Maximum count of valid frames for valid framestest J Valid Frame Freq Min Minimum frequency of a valid frame in anampl. seq. K Valid Frame Freq Max Maximum frequency of a valid frame inan ampl. seq. L Valid Frame Ampl. Min Minimum amplitude of a valid framein an ampl. seq. M Valid Frame Ampl. Max Maximum amplitude of a validframe in an ampl. seq. N Oscillation Count Min Minimum count ofoscillations for oscillation test O Oscillation Count Max Maximum countof oscillations for oscillation test P Oscillation Count Amplitude Theinter-frame amplitude difference for an osc. count Q Osc Time Range MinThe earliest frame for oscillation test R Osc Time Range Max The latestframe for oscillation test S Osc Frame Error Tolerance The tolerance forerror frames during an osc. test. T Freq Count Min Minimum count offrequencies for frequency diversity test U Freq Count Max Maximum countof frequencies for frequency diversity test V Freq Time Range Min Theearliest frame for frequency diversity test W Freq Time Range Max Thelatest frame for frequency diversity test X Increase Frame Amplitude Theinter-frame amplitude difference for an inc. coimt Y Increase Frame MaxError The tolerance for error frames during an inc. count Z IncreaseFrame Count Min The minimum count of increase frames for the sound AAIncrease Frame Count Max The maximum count of increase frames for thesound BB Decrease Frame Amplitude The inter-frame amplitude differencefor a dec. count CC Decrease Frame Max Error The tolerance for errorframes during a dec. count DD Decrease Frame Count Min The minimum countof decrease frames for the sound EE Decrease Frame Count Max The maximumcount of decrease frames for the sound FF Error Count Min Minimum countof error (0) frames for error frame test GG Error Count Max Maximumcount of error (0) frames for error frame test

Regarding the number of amplitude sequences: this refers to the numberof amplitude sequences into which a sound sample is to be transformed.For example, if n is 1, then the sound sample to be tested is onlytransformed into 1 amplitude sequence, and this 1 amplitude sequence isa sequence of amplitudes of the most prominent frequency content inframes. If n is two, then the first amplitude sequence is a sequence ofamplitudes of the most prominent frequency content in frames, and thesecond amplitude sequence is a sequence of amplitudes of the 2^(nd) mostprominent frequency content in frames. Prominence, in this embodiment,refers to amplitude. A given frame corresponding to a particular soundsample may incorporate frequency content that is within different bands.Particularly for short sounds, analyzing using only the most prominentfrequency content in a given frame may not provide enough information todistinguish between very similar, very short sounds. However, theprocesses described herein enabling the transformation of a sound sampleinto multiple amplitude sequences, each corresponding to an ‘order’ ofprominence, provides for the extraction of additional useful informationabout a sound. This is because the features and patterns of additionalorders, or at least the existence of significant amplitudes in theadditional orders, can indicate distinctions between sounds.

FIG. 6A is a graph of a first order amplitude sequence produced by thetransform process 50 using a sound sample. FIG. 6B is a graph of asecond order amplitude sequence produced by the transform process usingthe sound sample, and FIG. 6C is a graph of a third order amplitudesequence produced by the transform process using the sound sample. Thedifferent fills of the amplitude bars represent the content of differentfrequency bands. It can be seen that there is significant “content” inthe second and third orders, in addition to the first order content.This can be contrasted with the graphs of FIGS. 7A to 7C. For example,FIG. 7A is a graph of a first order amplitude sequence produced bytransform process 50 using the sound sample. The graph of FIG. 7A isvery similar to the graph of FIG. 6A. However, the graph of FIG. 7B isquite different from the graph of FIG. 6B Similarly, the graph of FIG.7C is quite different from the graph of FIG. 6C. More particularly,there is far less ‘content’ in the second and third orders of the soundsample presented to the transform process 50 to produce amplitudesequences corresponding to graphs 7B and 7C than there is in the secondand third orders of the sound sample presented to the transform processto produce amplitude sequences corresponding to graphs 6B and 6C.Because transform process 50 has been provided with transform parametersfor producing more than one amplitude sequence, each representingnth-prominence (i.e. most prominent, second-most prominent, third-mostprominent, etc.) frequency content, the test process 50 is able toprocess the multiple orders thus to generate test results usingadditional information about the sound sample.

Within database 40, there is also a TestRegime record associated withthe soundID for a particular sound. This is also retrieved byconfiguration process 30, for configuring test process 60 to conductcertain of the base of tests and not others, and for specifying theparameters for the tests to be conducted. In an embodiment, within theTestRegime record are weights indicating how the selected tests for asound are to be weighted during the execution of testing process 60.

The user inputs the sound sample by speaking into an audio transducer,in this embodiment the default device microphone as will be described infurther detail below. The signal flow from the microphone includespassing analog electronic signals captured by the microphone into anaudio interface within the computing device that providespre-amplification and then conversion using an ADC (audio to digitalconverter) to digital format. ADC conversion is well-understood andinvolves electronically sampling the analog signals to produce discretesamples. The samples resulting from ADC conversion are buffered in anaudio input buffer and combined from the buffer into an audio file thatmay be processed by a downstream process, played back, etc. In someimplementations, the buffered samples are processed forcoding/compression (such as for storage in MP3 audio files or othercompression formats), and in others the buffered samples are storedgenerally as uncompressed samples (such as for storage in WAV audiofiles or other such formats).

The stored (uncompressed) audio file is then passed to frame divisionprocess 52, which allocates sequences of the digital samples torespective frames. In this embodiment, the number of frames into whichthe digital samples are to be allocated is based on the sampling rateand an FFT buffer size. The sampling rate refers to how many samples ofthe analog microphone signal are to be taken each second, with a commonsampling rate being 44100 samples per second (Hz), or 44.1 kHz. The FFTbuffer size specifies how many of these samples are to be togetherprocessed using the downstream frequency transform 53 thereby to discernthe frequency content within a given frame.

With the frame division having been conducted, the frequency transformprocess 53 processes the digital samples by frame using a Fast FourierTransform (FFT) in order to register a set of frequencies for eachframe. In this embodiment, the number of frequencies to be allocated toeach frame is a configurable transform parameter. For some sounds, onlyone frequency per frame may need to be allocated, and the frequencychosen would be the most prominent frequency (the frequency discernedusing the FFT with the highest amplitude in that frame). However, asdescribed herein, many sounds—particularly short ones—can have verysimilar most-prominent frequency content. As such, the frequencytransform process 53 is configurable using transform parameters toallocate multiple frequencies n per frame (depending on the content ofthe samples of the frame in all cases) thereby to enable downstreamprocesses to operate on nth-prominence frequency content as will bedescribed.

In this embodiment, the frequency transform process 53 employs an FFTclass named FourierTransform, requiring that the audio buffers to beanalyzed have a length that is a power of two (2). The FFT class isprovided with digital sample buffers recorded with a sampling rate ofsampleRate and a frame size set at time Size corresponding to the lengthof the sampling buffers.

By way of explanation, a Fourier transform is an algorithm thattransforms a signal in the time domain, such as a sample bufferbuffering a set of samples, into a signal in the frequency domain, oftencalled the spectrum. The spectrum does not represent individualfrequencies, but actually represents frequency bands centered onparticular frequencies. The centre frequency of each band is usuallyexpressed as a fraction of the sampling rate of the time domain signaland is equal to the index of the frequency band divided by the totalnumber of bands. The total number of frequency bands is usually equal tothe length of the time domain signal, but access is only provided tofrequency bands with indices less than half the length, because theycorrespond to frequencies below the Nyquist frequency. That is, given asignal of length N, there will be N/2 frequency bands in the spectrum.As an example, if one constructs a FourierTransform with a time Size of1024 and a sampleRate of 44100 Hz, then the spectrum will contain valuesfor frequencies below 22010 Hz, which is the Nyquist frequency (half thesample rate). If one specifies the value of band number 5, this willcorrespond to a frequency band cantered on5/1024*44100=0.0048828125*44100=215 Hz. The width of that frequency bandis equal to 2/1024, expressed as a fraction of the total bandwidth ofthe spectrum. The total bandwidth of the spectrum is equal to theNyquist frequency, which in this case is 22050, so the bandwidth isequal to about 50 Hz. A function getFreq( ) allows one to query thespectrum with a frequency in Hz and the function getBandWidth( ) willreturn the bandwidth in Hz of each frequency band in the spectrum. Atypical usage of a FourierTransform is to analyze a signal so that thefrequency spectrum may be represented in some way, typically withvertical lines.

With the frequency transform having been conducted such that there isderived a set of one or more frequencies per frame (each withcorresponding amplitudes), the filtering process 54 filters frequenciesin each frequency set into a respective one of a plurality of ordersbased on relative prominence. For example, in a given frame, the mostprominent (highest amplitude) frequency will be allocated to the firstof the orders, the second-most prominent (second-highest amplitude)frequency will be allocated to the second of the orders, the third-mostprominent (third-highest amplitude) frequency will be allocated to thethird of the orders, and so forth. In this manner, an nth-orderrepresentation of the content of the audio signal will contain thenth-most prominent frequencies across all frames, and their respectiveamplitudes. The process may filter the frequency content into severalorders, potentially thirty (30) order depending on the nature of theaudio signal and the information sought from it.

With the filtering process 54 having filtered frequencies intorespective orders, such that in each order for each frame there is amaximum of only one frequency represented, the amplitude sequenceprocess 55 generates multiple amplitude sequences based on the orders.In this embodiment, each amplitude sequence n respectively includes asequence of amplitudes of the nth-order frequency content in the frames.The amplitude sequences 55 a, b, c etc. are then provided to an outputprocess that generates user-apprehendable content based on the multipleamplitude sequences for a user interface. In this embodiment, the outputprocess includes the test process 60 producing a sound detection scoreand the user interface process 20 to generate for the user arepresentation of the sound detection score, such as a visual display ofthe sound detection score, an audible sound, or the like.

In an embodiment, additional processing is conducted on the amplitudesequences using image processing algorithms for discerning content. Agraphical representation of the audio signal may be produced andprovided to a neural network that has been trained using date for imagesto discern between the graphical depictions of different sounds. One ormultiple amplitude sequences, combined or separate from each other, maybe used to produce respective graphical plots, including graphicaldistinctions between frequencies (as shown in tool 3000 below) so thatthey may be classified using a trained neural network. A graphicaldepiction of the analog signal, as yet unfiltered into amplitudesequences, may also be produced. Such graphical representations,generally suitable for display to a user using a display device, may notactually be displayed during sound detection but may instead be resolvedinto pixel-value tables for provision to the neural network. The neuralnetwork, appropriately trained, classifies the pixel-value tables, andthus the corresponding graphical depictions, to provide a classificationfor the sound based on the shape of the amplitude sequences into whichit may be resolved, and/or the shape of the graphical depiction of theanalog signal. For example, the neural network may classify a sound as a“buh” with a confidence of 75%, and as a “tuh” with a confidence of 25%,based on the shape/contour, size, frequency diversity of one or more ofthe amplitude sequences into which the audio signal is resolved andprovided with graphical attributes that correspond to audio contentdistinctions and contrasts, as described above. The neural network'sclassification can then be combined with an identification conductedusing the different mode to sound testing described herein, in order tomodify the sound identification score. For example, if the soundidentification score determined using the techniques described below isdetermined to have 50% confidence that the sound is a “buh”, while theclassification using the graphical information of the sound as a “buh”has a 75% confidence, then on balance the highest confidence from thetwo modes of sound identification goes to the sound being a “buh”. Thismulti-modal technique for sound identification is akin to a personemploying both their senses of sight and sound to cognitively apprehendan object, rather than using only one of their senses, so that each ofthe senses can work together to arrive at a higher confidence about thenature of the object than they could were they deployed in isolation.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a hardware architecture of acomputing system 1000, according to an embodiment. Computing system 1000is suitable as the hardware platform for sound identification system 10.In this embodiment, computing system 1000 includes a bus 1010 or othercommunication mechanism for communicating information, and a processor1018 coupled with the bus 1010 for processing the information. Thecomputing system 1000 also includes a main memory 1004, such as a randomaccess memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device (e.g., dynamic RAM(DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), and synchronous DRAM (SDRAM)), coupled to thebus 1010 for storing information and instructions to be executed byprocessor 1018. In addition, the main memory 1004 may be used forstoring temporary variables or other intermediate information during theexecution of instructions by the processor 1018. Processor 1018 mayinclude memory structures such as registers for storing such temporaryvariables or other intermediate information during execution ofinstructions. The computing system 1000 further includes a read onlymemory (ROM) 1006 or other static storage device (e.g., programmable ROM(PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), and electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM))coupled to the bus 1010 for storing static information and instructionsfor the processor 1018.

Computing system 1000 also includes a disk controller 1008 coupled tothe bus 1010 to control one or more storage devices for storinginformation and instructions, such as a magnetic hard disk 1022 and/or asolid state drive (SSD) and/or a flash drive, and a removable mediadrive 1024 (e.g., solid state drive such as USB key or external harddrive, floppy disk drive, read-only compact disc drive, read/writecompact disc drive, compact disc jukebox, tape drive, and removablemagneto-optical drive). The storage devices may be added to thecomputing system 1000 using an appropriate device interface (e.g.,Serial ATA (SATA), peripheral component interconnect (PCI), smallcomputing system interface (SCSI), integrated device electronics (IDE),enhanced-IDE (E-IDE), direct memory access (DMA), ultra-DMA, as well ascloud-based device interfaces).

Computing system 1000 may also include special purpose logic devices(e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)) or configurablelogic devices (e.g., simple programmable logic devices (SPLDs), complexprogrammable logic devices (CPLDs), and field programmable gate arrays(FPGAs)).

Computing system 1000 also includes a display controller 1002 coupled tothe bus 1010 to control a display 1012, such as an LED (light emittingdiode) screen, organic LED (OLED) screen, liquid crystal display (LCD)screen or some other device suitable for displaying information to acomputer user. In embodiments, display controller 1002 incorporates adedicated graphics processing unit (GPU) for processing mainlygraphics-intensive or being used for other highly-parallel operations.Such operations may include conducting image processing using amplitudesequences into which a sound sample has been transformed, or conductingclassification based on an additional machine-learning statisticalmodel. Use of a GPU relieves processor 1018 of having to undertake suchintensive operations at the expense of overall performance of computingsystem 1000. Typically, the GPU may incorporate dedicated graphicsmemory for storing data generated during its operations, and includes aframe buffer RAM memory for storing processing results as bitmaps to beused to activate pixels of display 1012. The GPU may be instructed toundertake various operations by applications running on computing system1000 using a graphics-directed application programming interface (API)such as OpenGL, Direct3D and the like.

Computing system 1000 includes input devices, such as a keyboard 1014and a pointing device 1016, for interacting with a computer user andproviding information to the processor 1018. The pointing device 1016,for example, may be a mouse, a trackball, or a pointing stick forcommunicating direction information and command selections to theprocessor 1018 and for controlling cursor movement on the display 1012.The computing system 1000 employs a display device that is coupled withan input device, such as a touch screen. In this embodiment, inputdevices include a microphone audio transducer for producing electronicsignals for use by computing system 1000 based on audio signalsinteracting with the microphone diaphragm. Other input devices may beemployed, such as those that provide data to the computing system viawires or wirelessly, such as gesture detectors including infrareddetectors, gyroscopes, accelerometers, radar/sonar and the like. Aprinter may provide printed listings of data stored and/or generated bythe computing system 1000.

Computing system 1000 performs a portion or all of the processing stepsdiscussed herein in response to the processor 1018 and/or GPU of displaycontroller 1002 executing one or more sequences of one or moreinstructions contained in a memory, such as the main memory 1004. Suchinstructions may be read into the main memory 1004 from anotherprocessor readable medium, such as a hard disk 1022 or a removable mediadrive 1024. One or more processors in a multi-processing arrangementsuch as computing system 1000 having both a central processing unit andone or more graphics processing unit may also be employed to execute thesequences of instructions contained in main memory 1004 or in dedicatedgraphics memory of the GPU. In alternative embodiments, hard-wiredcircuitry may be used in place of or in combination with softwareinstructions.

As stated above, computing system 1000 includes at least one processorreadable medium or memory for holding instructions programmed accordingto the teachings of the invention and for containing data structures,tables, records, or other data described herein. Examples of processorreadable media are solid state devices (SSD), flash-based drives,compact discs, hard disks, floppy disks, tape, magneto-optical disks,PROMs (EPROM, EEPROM, flash EPROM), DRAM, SRAM, SDRAM, or any othermagnetic medium, compact discs (e.g., CD-ROM), or any other opticalmedium, punch cards, paper tape, or other physical medium with patternsof holes, a carrier wave (described below), or any other medium fromwhich a computer can read.

Stored on any one or on a combination of processor readable media, issoftware for controlling the computing system 1000, for driving a deviceor devices to perform the functions discussed herein, and for enablingcomputing system 1000 to interact with a human user (e.g., forcontrolling mixing of live-streams of audio and video and other media).Such software may include, but is not limited to, device drivers,operating systems, development tools, and applications software. Suchprocessor readable media further includes the computer program productfor performing all or a portion (if processing is distributed) of theprocessing performed discussed herein.

The computer code devices discussed herein may be any interpretable orexecutable code mechanism, including but not limited to scripts,interpretable programs, dynamic link libraries (DLLs), Java classes, andcomplete executable programs. Moreover, parts of the processing of thepresent invention may be distributed for better performance,reliability, and/or cost.

A processor readable medium providing instructions to a processor 1018may take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media,volatile media, and transmission media. Non-volatile media includes, forexample, optical, magnetic disks, and magneto-optical disks, such as thehard disk 1022 or the removable media drive 1024. Volatile mediaincludes dynamic memory, such as the main memory 1004. Transmissionmedia includes coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, includingthe wires that make up the bus 1010. Transmission media also may alsotake the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated duringradio wave and infrared data communications using various communicationsprotocols.

Various forms of processor readable media may be involved in carryingout one or more sequences of one or more instructions to processor 1018for execution. For example, the instructions may initially be carried ona magnetic disk of a remote computer. The remote computer can load theinstructions for implementing all or a portion of the present inventionremotely into a dynamic memory and send the instructions over a wired orwireless connection using a modem. A modem local to the computing system1000 may receive the data via wired Ethernet or wirelessly via Wi-Fi andplace the data on the bus 1010. The bus 1010 carries the data to themain memory 1004, from which the processor 1018 retrieves and executesthe instructions. The instructions received by the main memory 1004 mayoptionally be stored on storage device 1022 or 1024 either before orafter execution by processor 1018.

Computing system 1000 also includes a communication interface 1020coupled to the bus 1010. The communication interface 1020 provides atwo-way data communication coupling to a network link that is connectedto, for example, a local area network (LAN) 1500, or to anothercommunications network 2000 such as the Internet. For example, thecommunication interface 1020 may be a network interface card to attachto any packet switched LAN. As another example, the communicationinterface 1020 may be an asymmetrical digital subscriber line (ADSL)card, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) card or a modem toprovide a data communication connection to a corresponding type ofcommunications line. Wireless links may also be implemented. In any suchimplementation, the communication interface 1020 sends and receiveselectrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital datastreams representing various types of information.

The network link typically provides data communication through one ormore networks to other data devices, including without limitation toenable the flow of electronic information. For example, the network linkmay provide a connection to another computer through a local network1500 (e.g., a LAN) or through equipment operated by a service provider,which provides communication services through a communications network2000. The local network 1500 and the communications network 2000 use,for example, electrical, electromagnetic, or optical signals that carrydigital data streams, and the associated physical layer (e.g., CAT 5cable, coaxial cable, optical fiber, etc.). The signals through thevarious networks and the signals on the network link and through thecommunication interface 1020, which carry the digital data to and fromthe computing system 1000, may be implemented in baseband signals, orcarrier wave based signals. The baseband signals convey the digital dataas unmodulated electrical pulses that are descriptive of a stream ofdigital data bits, where the term “bits” is to be construed broadly tomean symbol, where each symbol conveys at least one or more informationbits. The digital data may also be used to modulate a carrier wave, suchas with amplitude, phase and/or frequency shift keyed signals that arepropagated over a conductive media, or transmitted as electromagneticwaves through a propagation medium. Thus, the digital data may be sentas unmodulated baseband data through a “wired” communication channeland/or sent within a predetermined frequency band, different thanbaseband, by modulating a carrier wave. The computing system 1000 cantransmit and receive data, including program code, through thenetwork(s) 1500 and 2000, the network link and the communicationinterface 1020. Moreover, the network link may provide a connectionthrough a LAN 1500 to a mobile device 1300 such as a personal digitalassistant (PDA) laptop computer, or cellular telephone.

Computing system 1000 may be provisioned with or be in communicationwith live broadcast/streaming equipment that receives and transmits, innear real-time, a stream of digital video/audio content captured in nearreal-time from a particular live event, performer or participant.

While the principles described herein are applicable to sound detectionthrough transformation of an audio signal into multiple amplitudesequences based on relative prominence of the frequency content, suchtransformations can be useful for providing characterizations of audiosignals for other purposes. Such other purposes may include enabling auser or a system to distinguish audio signal content that is not relatedto meaning of information intended to be conveyed by a speaker, fromaudio signal content that is in fact related to the meaning ofinformation to be conveyed. Such distinctions, made automatically ormade visually discernible by a user using the principles describedherein, can enable such differential content to be differentiallydeployed, filtered-out, studied for patterns or character, or otherwiseprocessed in a useful way based on the application required. Suchdistinguishing and subsequent processing, including processes involvedin transducing an audio signal and processing the audio signal using anaudio interface, transforming and otherwise processing the audio signalsand outputting user interface content based on multiple amplitudesequences for various purposes, may be conducted using one or morecomputing systems such as computing system 1000 described above,specifically configured using processor-readable code and coupled toappropriate transducers, audio interfaces, network interfaces, storagedevices and the like for a particular application.

FIG. 9 is a screenshot of an initial screen of a computer-based tool3000 providing various parameters for enabling an engineer or researcherto either select or record a sound file and to very flexibly explore thenature of the sound in the sound file, according to an embodiment.Because tool 3000 provides a visual display of one or multiple amplitudesequences generated using processes 52 through 55 described above, it isuseful at least for enabling a researcher to establish soundProfileparameters that can be deployed downstream by a sound identificationsystem 10 such as that described above.

The initial state of tool 3000 when initialized provides an inputsection 3100, a parameter exploration section 3200, an output section3300, and a training section 3400.

Input section 3100 provides an Import Files button that can be selectedby a user to provide a file selection window enabling the user to selecta sound file from a directory for input into tool 3000. It will beunderstood that a given sound file will have been already produced usinga sampling rate, and thus is not re-sampled during processing by tool3000. Input section 3100 also includes a Listen Via Mic button that canbe selected by a user to trigger a microphone of a tool 3000 to beginrecording a sound in real time (including sampling) into a sound filefor analysis. Input parameters for this mode of operation include a MicDetection Time text box, in FIG. 8 indicating a three (3) seconddetection time, and a Mic threshold text box, in FIG. 9 indicating a one(1) decibel (dB) intensity threshold. In this example, after pressingthe Listen via Mic button, tool 3000 will trigger the recording of soundreceived via microphone into a sound file, immediately after firstreceiving sound having an intensity of at least 1 dB for a maximum of 3seconds. A user of tool 3000 may increase or reduce the Mic DetectionTime and the Mic Threshold by entering different numbers into respectivetext boxes.

Parameter exploration section 3200 provides a user with a number ofparameters for exploring a sound that has been inputted into tool 3000via use of input section 3100. Shown in this embodiment is a control foradjusting an oscillation amplitude, which sets a threshold amplitudedifference between successive amplitudes in frames that tool 3000 willcount as an oscillation. In this example, a difference betweenamplitudes in adjacent frames of 0.1 will count as an oscillation. Itwill be understood therefore that the term oscillation, in thisembodiment, is meant as a threshold amplitude difference between frames.Also shown is an analysis period control, in this example set at one (1)second. The analysis period control is for enabling a user of tool 3000to focus analysis on a particular subsection of the sound file underanalysis. For example, a particular sound file may capture 3 seconds ofsound, including empty space before and after the core of the sound. Theanalysis period control enables a user to hone in one just the portionof the sound file carrying the core of the sound.

A sampling rate control, in this example set at 44100 Hertz (Hz),establishes the rate at which the sound file is to be sampled foranalysis. The sampling rate control and an FFT size control, in thisexample set at 512 samples, work in tandem to establish a “resolution”at which frames of sound are established. In particular, a larger buffersize will provide for longer individual frames, which results in lowerfrequency resolution for each of the frames. By providing a smallerbuffer size, individual frames represent a smaller slice of the soundand can thereby be more granular as to the frequency and correspondingamplitude content within the slice. The sampling rate and FFT buffersize controls enable the user of tool 3000 to hone in on an appropriatecombination that provides sufficient resolution for creating an accurateand useful soundProfile usable by a downstream sound identificationsystem 10.

A frequency-per-frame (Freq/Frame) control, in this example set at one(1), establishes the number of amplitude sequences to be generated bytool 3000 for a given sound file. In this example, the Freq/Framecontrol being set at 1 causes tool 3000 to generate a sequence ofamplitudes of only the most prominent frequency content in frames of thesound file. If, as will be described below, a user of tool 3000 isinterested in exploring beyond the “first order” frequency content, tosecond-order, third-order, fourth-order frequency content, for examples,the user can enter a correspondingly higher number n into the Freq/Frametext box. In turn, upon pressing a refresh icon, depicted in parameterexploration section 3200 as a circled-arrow, tool 3000 processes thesound file to extract n amplitude sequences each representing thenth-most prominent frequency content in frames of the sound. It has beendiscovered that having the ability to look “behind” the first order toobserve behaviours of amplitude sequences in higher-order amplitudesequences, can enable a user of tool 3000 to segregate a sound intoorders so the user can locate and characterize a “core” of a sound so itmay be segregated for analysis from other non-core portions of thesound. This is very useful particularly for deeply analyzing shortsounds, because even with the dearth of content (relative to much longersounds) it enables the user to both discover and filter-out noise,non-core portions of the short sounds, and/or portions of the shortsounds that are more personal to the speaker of the sound, than they arefundamental to the nature of the utterance. For example, for a givensound, such as a short spoken “b”, the lips, breath, sex, age, healthand so forth of a particular speaker may cause his or her first orderamplitude sequence, with the most prominent frequency content being theresult of unindicative airflows against a microphone, to be quitedifferent from the first order amplitude sequence of another speaker,even when both are uttering their respective versions of a “buh”.Without the insights provided by segregation into multiple differentorders, a user might conclude that not enough information is availableto create a signature for the sound content itself since it would not beapparent what could be considered similar between two differentspeakers' utterances of the same sound. However, the second and/orhigher order amplitude sequences segmented using tool 3000 may, evenwhen derived from utterances from two different people, be much moresimilar, and much more indicative of the “b” content itself, andtherefore much more widely applicable for establishing parameters for asoundProfile that can be deployed for use by various users in a soundidentification system 10.

A threshold parameter control, in this example set at ten (10), enablesa user of tool 3000 to establish the threshold different in amplitudesbetween successive amplitudes in the amplitude sequence(s) generated bytool 3000 will increment an amplitude difference counter.

A bandwidth parameter control, in this example set at 10 Hz, enables auser of tool 3000 to establish a size of frequency bands and thereforethe granularity of frequency distinctions. With the bandwidth parametercontrol set at 10 Hz, any detected frequencies within 10 Hz of an edgefrequency will be depicted in tool 3000 as being within the same band asthe edge frequency. For example, of tool 3000 detects frequency contentof 86 Hz, 89 Hz and 94 Hz, with the bandwidth parameter control set at10 Hz, tool 3000 will represent the three different frequency contentsas being only 86 Hz. As such, this control enables a user of tool 3000to filter out relatively unimportant frequency distinctions so keycomponents of the sound being analyzed can become more evident, and sothat a downstream sound identification system 10 can, once user of tool3000 has established a corresponding soundProfile, be relieved of havingto keep track of relatively unimportant frequency distinctions.

The repeat count parameter control, in this example set at 1, enables auser of tool 3000 to specify how much a counter will increase in theevent that a threshold number of valid frames, frequency and amplitudeoscillation, and frequency count, reach a predetermined threshold.

When any of parameter controls in parameter exploration section 3200 ischanged or adjusted, the user can press the refresh icon thereby tocause tool 3000 to process the selected sound file in accordance withthe changed parameters. If the user wishes to reset the tool 3000,purging the sound file previously selected or recorded, the user canpress the Close All button.

Output section 3300 provides various checkboxes and buttons forestablishing outputs based on parameter exploration conducted on aparticular sound file as will be described herein. Two primary outputsare available: a CSV (Comma-Separated Values) file and an image file, inthis embodiment a PNG (Portable Network Graphic) formatted image file orfiles. For a CSV file, checkboxes for inclusion or withholding of aLabel Name, Frame Number, Frequency Values, and Amplitude Values in theresulting CSV file, as well as the number of (available) FrequencyOrders for which data should be included in the resulting CSV file, areprovided. For the image file, a user can choose whether to export an FFTGraph, and/or an Analog graph, an image file per Individual Graph or oneimage file with All Graphs. The user is provided, upon pressing theExport CSV button or the Download Graphs as PNG Format button, with theopportunity to select a local or network storage location at which tostore the generated export files.

Training section 3400 provides a toggle button that toggles betweenvalues Training Via Mic (shown in FIG. 9), and Stop (not shown).Training section 3400 provides a useful tool to a sound analyst forhaving the microphone continuously listen for inputs and to allocateeach discrete input to respective amplitude sequences for display andvisual manipulation. In particular, while tool 3000 is in the TrainingVia Mic “mode”, a user can utter sounds multiple times over a TrainingPeriod, and each utterance during the training period is allocated toits own amplitude sequence or its own set of amplitude sequences. TheStarting Threshold textbox enables the user to specify how loud anutterance must be to be registered, and the Training Period text boxindicates how long the microphone should be listening for utterances.With each utterance allocated to its own graph—such as if the useruttered “buh” four or five times during the Training Period—the usercould study each of the resultant four or five sets of (one or more)amplitudes sequences for similarities and variances in the “buh's” thatwere spoken into the microphone. In this way, a user is provided with avisual display of several attempts to utter the same sound, so thatusing the various parameters of the tool, differences between theseveral attempts can be ignored or minimized, while similarities can befocused on or maximized, thereby to enable the user to characterize thecontent with the help of visual feedback.

Furthermore, tool 3000 is able to automatically “abstract out”similarities across the amplitude sequences, for example by measuringthe minimum and maximum frequencies in each of the parts of the sound(such as the first part, a middle part, a last part, etc., generallydelineated as increasing amplitude section, steady state section, anddecreasing amplitude section, respectively), the minimum and maximumnumber of frames in each of the parts of the sound, and so forth. Thus,provided that a user during a Training Period attempts to speak the samesound multiple times, the abstracting-out of the core of the sound basedon similarities between the respective sets of amplitude sequences canbe effective for narrowing down on the key aspects of the sound thattranscend all or most utterances of it. This kind of analysis may bedone in a guided way using the tool, such that the user analyzing thesound can be guided by tool 3000 to identify which frequency orders aremore or less important to the core or meaning of the sound, and whichare more or less important to the sound generating apparatus (thespeaker's lips, sex etc.), which frequencies are most prevalent (occurmost) and/or have the highest prominence (are loudest), whether a soundsample is an insufficiently rich sample to use for training, and soforth.

Training section 3400 further provides checkboxes for showing or hiding,across all amplitude sequence sets, the individual Frequency Orders inrespective graphs so the user can hone in on all or individual, orindividual combinations of orders of the amplitude sequences into whichcontent had been filtered during the Training Period. Checkboxes forshowing or hiding Oscillation counts (number of oscillations detected),Frequency counts (number of frequencies detected), Increasing Framescounts and Decreasing Frames counts are also made available. Also, aFrequency Count order checkbox is made available for enabling a user tochoose to select whether, during a training period, the frequency countis displayed. Generally speaking, using these checkboxes, a user canchoose to select or deselect which analytical information is beingdisplayed so as to tailor the display to the analysis being done so thatunnecessary information is not crowding the user's display.

FIG. 10 is a screenshot of an audio file selection pop-up window 3500overlying the initial screen of FIG. 9 pursuant to selection of theImport Files button. In this example, a folder named “b” contains a listof audio files containing multiple examples of the utterance “buh”. Anyof these audio files can be selected using tool 3000 in order to causetool 3000 to conduct processing on it. In this embodiment, the “b.wav”file is being selected.

FIG. 11 is a screenshot of a screen of the computer-based tool of FIG. 9with an audio file having been selected, and a transform process havingbeen automatically executed to generate and display an amplitudesequence in graph form, and corresponding measurements based on thecontents of the audio file. In this example, the selected file is“b.wav” which is a file of audio samples taken at a rate of 44100 Hz.Also in this example, the graph is shown depicting an amplitude sequencecorresponding to amplitudes of the most prominent frequencies (the1^(st) Frequency Order, selected using a checkbox for 1) Position ofeach Frequency) in each of a number of time frames (or, “frames”). Theprocess for generating the data for producing the graph is the same asthat described above in connection with the sound identification system10.

In this embodiment, the different frequencies allocated to respectiveorders in respective frames are made visually distinct from one another,to enable the user of tool 3000 to apprehend the sound visually. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 11, the bars representing the amplitudes ofthe frequencies are respectively patterned according to the frequency. Alegend showing three different frequencies in this frequency order andtheir corresponding pattern in the bar chart appears towards the righthand side of the graph. While in this embodiment for ease ofunderstanding the patterns differ across frequencies, colour instead ofor in addition to pattern could be used to help the user visuallydiscern the distinct frequencies in one or more amplitude sequencesbeing displayed. The actual frequency values are shown along thehorizontal axis for ease of understanding and reference by the user.

A user is able to adjust the parameters in the parameters section 3200in order to adjust the look of the graph thereby to work towardsunderstanding the sound. For example, the user may adjust the Bandwidthparameter in order to provide wider or narrower bandwidths into whichthe frequency content is to be grouped, and this will affect somewhatwhich frequencies are displayed in the graph. It will be noted that, forfrequency 172 Hz, for example, the content being represented is not onlyamplitudes of the 172 Hz content in the given frame, but also theamplitude of frequency content that is within the same 10 Hz band as the172 Hz content. This may actually include frequency content between 170Hz and 180 Hz. As such, if the bandwidth is changed to 5 Hz, thefrequency content that was originally combined together in the 172 Hzband due to the 10 Hz bandwidth may be split across two different bands(say, between a 170-174 Hz band and a 175-179 Hz band), leading to adifferent display of content, depending on the actual content of theaudio file.

Below the graph are items of information pertaining to the analysis,including a 2) Frequency Values subsection which summarize the multiplefrequencies appearing in the currently-displayed amplitude sequence(s).In this example, the three (3) frequency values are shown listed.Similarly, a 3) Frequency Repetition subsection displays the number oftimes each frequency that is identified and being displayed as part ofone or more amplitude sequences is itself repeated in the amplitudesequences. In this example, Frequency(1), corresponding to 86 Hz, isrepeated four (4) times. That is, in the amplitude sequence displayed,86 Hz is the nth-most prominent frequency in four (4) of the framesSimilarly, Frequency(2), corresponding to 172 Hz, is repeated four (4)times, corresponding to 172 Hz being the nth-most prominent frequency infour (4) of the frames. And, Frequency(3), corresponding to 344 Hz, isrepeated three (3) times, corresponding to 344 Hz being the nth-mostprominent frequency in three (3) of the frames.

Also shown is the 4) Total Frames, in this embodiment 11 frames,indicating the total number of frames detected according to theparameters set out in the parameter section 3200, the 5) StrongestFrequency, in this embodiment 344 Hz, indicating the frequency producingthe highest bar in the amplitude sequence.

Also shown is 6) Longest Freq, in this embodiment 86 Hz, which displaysthe frequency that appears the most within the frequency orders beingdisplayed. In this example, one frequency order is being displayed (the1^(st) frequency order) and, within this order, the 86 Hz band takes upfour (4) frames. In the event that multiple orders are being displayed,then 6) Longest Freq will display the frequency responsible for the mostnumber of frames across all displayed orders. As such, a particularfrequency may be responsible for two frames in the first order and fourframes across higher orders, for a total of six frames. If no otherfrequency was responsible for six frames or more across all orders beingdisplayed, then that frequency is considered the longest frequency.

7) Max Amplitude displays the highest amplitude in units of decibels(dB), in this example 89 dB corresponding to the third displayed framefor which 344 Hz content was responsible.

8) Oscillation Count displays the rate that the amplitude changes athreshold amount between frames across the set of frames on display. Thethreshold amount is set by the Threshold dB value set in region 3200. Inthis example, the rate is measured at two (2) frames, which means thaton average the amplitude changes by at least 10 dB every two (2) frames.This might be arrived at by considering, in a sequence of 5 frames, thatan amplitude may change 10 dB across the first two adjacent frames, butmay change 10 dB across the sequence of the next three (3) frames(because the inter-frame difference between any two adjacent frames inthe set of the next three frames does not reach 10 dB), such that theaverage of these would be two (2). As such, the Oscillation Countindicates how many frames, on average, it takes for there to be athreshold change in amplitude. A portion of the amplitude sequence thatrequires passage of a high number of frames before a threshold change inamplitude, will increase the Oscillation count, whereas a portion of theamplitude sequence that requires passage of only a small number offrames before a threshold change in amplitude, will lower theOscillation Count.

Similarly, a Frequency Oscillation Count (not displayed) is the ratethat the frequency changes a threshold amount between frames across theset of frames on display. The threshold amount is set by the Bandwidthvalue set in region 3200. As such, the Frequency Oscillation Countindicates how many frames, on average, it takes for there to be athreshold change in frequency. A portion of the amplitude sequence thatrequires passage of a high number of frames before a threshold change infrequency, will increase the Frequency Oscillation Count, whereas aportion of the amplitude sequence that requires passage of only a smallnumber of frames before a threshold change in frequency, will lower theFrequency Oscillation Count.

9) Frequency Count is a number of the frequencies being displayed, andcorresponds to the number of frequencies represented in the legendcorresponding to the displayed amplitude sequence.

10) Error Frames is a number of frames that appear between valid framesin the amplitude sequence. A valid frame is a frame with frequencycontent that is within a defined frequency range and has an amplitudewithin a defined amplitude range. An invalid frame is a frame that hasfrequency content only outside of the defined frequency range and/orfrequency content that is outside of a defined amplitude range. Oncevalid frames are identified in the amplitude sequence, any invalidframes appearing between two or more valid frames are considered errorframes. In this example, there are zero (0) Error Frames.

11) Increasing First Part is a count of the number of increasing framesin the first part of the amplitude sequence, and 12) Decreasing FirstPart is a count of the number of decreasing frames in the first part ofthe amplitude sequence. A first part of an amplitude sequence isgenerally the portion at the beginning of the amplitude sequence untilthe amplitude reaches generally a steady value, at which point theamplitude sequence enters its middle part. When the amplitude beginsfalling marks the start of the end part of the amplitude sequence. Anincreasing frame is a frame that is a threshold amplitude higher thanits previous frame. A decreasing frame is a frame that is a thresholdamplitude lower than its previous frame. In this example, the IncreasingFirst Part is one (1) frame and the Decreasing First Part is zero (0)frames.

FIG. 12 is a screenshot of the screen of FIG. 11 while a portion of anamplitude sequence being displayed is being selected for study. A useris able to select a portion of the amplitude sequence by dragging amouse pointer across the region of interest thereby to highlight theregion of interest, and releasing the mouse button. FIG. 13 is ascreenshot of the screen of FIG. 11 resulting from the release of themouse button, showing while the portion of the amplitude sequenceselected in FIG. 12 being maximally displayed. The display of thetime/amplitude plot of the audio file is modified to correspond to theportion of the amplitude sequence being shown. Clicking the mouse buttonwhile the mouse is positioned in the plot reverts the amplitude sequenceto its default display configuration, as shown in FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a screenshot of the screen of FIG. 11 with a transformprocess having been automatically executed to generate multipleamplitude sequences and to display one of the multiple generatedamplitude sequences and corresponding measurements based on the contentof a selected audio file. A mouse pointer is poised beside a checkboxfor toggling display of a 2^(nd) frequency order in the plot. FIG. 15 isa screenshot of the screen of FIG. 14 with a user having selected todisplay multiple of the generated amplitude sequences overlying eachother, and corresponding measurements. It can be seen that thecorresponding measurements represent a compilation, or summing, of themeasurements for both of the 1^(st) and 2^(nd) frequency orders forwhich amplitude sequences are being displayed, overlaid on to eachother, in the plot. A total count and identification of frequencies areshown as visually distinct from each other, and the measurementsincluding 6) Longest Frequency take into account the content of the twoselected frequency orders.

FIG. 16 is a screenshot of the screen of FIG. 14 with a user havingselected to display only the 2rd frequency order amplitude sequence, andcorresponding measurements for just the 2^(nd) frequency order amplitudesequence. Using this feature, a user can hone in on the core of a soundby honing in at the 2^(nd) frequency order, thus filtering out fromconsideration the non-core content of the audio file that is present inthe 1^(st) frequency order. Different kinds of sounds may require focuson 1^(st), 3^(rd), 4^(th) frequency orders, in order to discern contentas distinct from environmental noise or noise that is attributable tothe sound-making apparatus, rather than the meaning of the content to beconveyed using the sound-making apparatus.

Alternative configurations of computing system may be used to implementthe systems and processes described herein.

Electronic data stores implemented in the database described herein maybe one or more of a table, an array, a database, a structured data file,an XML file, or some other functional data store, such as hard disk 1022or removable media 1024.

Although embodiments have been described with reference to the drawings,those of skill in the art will appreciate that variations andmodifications may be made without departing from the spirit, scope andpurpose of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

For example, systems and methods for processing electronic audio signalsmay employ and audio transducer and audio interface, or alternativelymay receive and process electronic audio signals captured first usingsuch an audio transducer by another system, remote in place and time.For example, a network interface of one system may be provided forreceiving digital samples generated by an audio transducer fromelectronic audio signals captured using an audio transducer of anothersystem. The network interface would convey the received digital samplesalong to a frame division process and the like for downstream processingand, in embodiments, production of user-apprehendable content. In otherembodiments, an electronic storage system may store digital samples ofelectronic audio signals captured using an audio transducer andelectronically stored in the electronic storage system locally todownstream processes such as a frame division process and the like, butmay also be storing digital samples received from a remote location atwhich the capturing by an audio transducer was conducted, over anetwork, for example. The electronic storage system may be a fixedstorage system such as a hard drive, may be a portable storage systemsuch as a compact disc or USB drive, or may be networked storage systemsuch as a cloud storage system. Various systems and methods may employcombinations of a network interface and a storage system for receivingin real-time streamed or as complete audio files, electronic audiosignals, and for subjecting the electronic audio signals to framedivision processes and other downstream processes such as the filteringand outputting.

The systems and methods may be deployed in similar ways for eitherenabling a user to study the sound based on frequency prominence, or todetermine whether a given sound embodies prescribed patterns andsatisfies prescribed thresholds based on amplitude sequences at variousorders of frequency prominence in order to automatically classify thegiven sound in a particular way.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for processing electronic audio signals,the system comprising: an input process for receiving digital samples ofan electronic audio signal; a frame division process for allocatingsequences of the digital samples of the electronic audio signal torespective frames; a frequency transform process for processing thedigital samples by frame thereby to register, for each of the frames, arespective frequency set; a filtering process for filtering frequenciesof each frequency set into a respective one of a plurality of ordersbased on relative prominence; an amplitude sequence process forgenerating multiple amplitude sequences based on the orders, eachamplitude sequence n respectively comprising a sequence of amplitudes ofthe nth-order frequency content in the frames; and an output process forgenerating user-apprehendable content for a user interface of the systembased on the multiple amplitude sequences.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the frame division process allocates a number of digital samplesto respective frames based on a configurable sampling rate and aconfigurable frequency transform buffer size.
 3. The system of claim 1,wherein the frequency transform process allocates a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurablenumber of frequencies per frame.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein thefrequency transform process allocates a number of frequencies to eachfrequency set based at least on a configurable frequency bandwidth. 5.The system of claim 1, wherein the frequency transform process allocatesa number of frequencies to each frequency set based at least on aconfigurable amplitude threshold, wherein digital samples of theelectronic sound signal having an amplitude below the configurableamplitude threshold are excluded from the processing.
 6. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the output process comprises: a display processconfigured to generate for display on a display device a visualrepresentation of one or more of the multiple amplitude sequences. 7.The system of claim 6, wherein the display process further displaysmeasurements corresponding to the displayed one or more amplitudesequences on the display device.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein themeasurements comprise: frequency values for each frequency for which anamplitude is being displayed by the display process.
 9. The system ofclaim 7, wherein the measurements comprise: a repetition count for eachfrequency value for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.
 10. The system of claim 7, wherein the measurements comprise: atotal number of frames for which an amplitude is being displayed by thedisplay process.
 11. The system of claim 7, wherein the measurementscomprise: an identification of a strongest frequency for which anamplitude is being displayed by the display process, wherein thestrongest frequency is a frequency with the highest sum of amplitudesfrom all amplitude sequences being displayed on the display device. 12.The system of claim 7, wherein the measurements comprise: anidentification of a single frequency for which an amplitude is beingdisplayed by the display process in longest unbroken succession acrossframes of an amplitude sequence.
 13. The system of claim 7, wherein themeasurements comprise: a frequency having the maximum amplitude offrequencies for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess; and the maximum amplitude.
 14. The system of claim 7, whereinthe measurements comprise: a total count of amplitude oscillationspresent in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.
 15. The systemof claim 14, wherein the total count of amplitude oscillations is basedat least on a configurable oscillation amplitude threshold.
 16. Thesystem of claim 7, wherein the measurements comprise: a total count offrequencies present in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence. 17.The system of claim 7, wherein the measurements comprise: a total countof error frames corresponding to the displayed one or more amplitudesequences.
 18. The system of claim 7, wherein the measurements comprise:a total count of increasing frames in a first part of the displayed oneor more amplitude sequences.
 19. The system of claim 7, wherein themeasurements comprise: a total count of decreasing frames in a firstpart of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.
 20. The system ofclaim 6, wherein the display process is further configured to display auser control for selecting, individually or collectively, one or more ofthe multiple amplitude sequences for display on the display device. 21.The system of claim 6, wherein the display process is further configuredto provide a user control for zooming in on a portion of a displayed oneor more amplitude sequences.
 22. The system of claim 1, wherein theoutput process comprises: a test process for testing the at least oneamplitude sequence to generate measurements, the test process comparingthe measurements to one or more respective threshold parameters togenerate a sound detection score; and a user interface process forgenerating for a user a representation of the sound detection score. 23.A method for processing electronic audio signals, the method comprising:receiving digital samples of an electronic audio signal; allocatingsequences of the digital samples of the electronic audio signal torespective frames; processing the digital samples by frame thereby toregister, for each of the frames, a respective frequency set; filteringfrequencies of each frequency set into a respective one of a pluralityof orders based on relative prominence; generating multiple amplitudesequences based on the orders, each amplitude sequence n respectivelycomprising a sequence of amplitudes of the nth-order frequency contentin the frames; and generating user-apprehendable content for a userinterface based on the multiple amplitude sequences.
 24. The method ofclaim 23, wherein the allocating comprises allocating a number ofdigital samples to respective frames based on a configurable samplingrate and a configurable frequency transform buffer size.
 25. The methodof claim 23, wherein the allocating comprises allocating a number offrequencies to each frequency set based at least on a configurablenumber of frequencies per frame.
 26. The method of claim 23, wherein theallocating comprises allocating a number of frequencies to eachfrequency set based at least on a configurable frequency bandwidth. 27.The method of claim 23, wherein the allocating comprises allocating anumber of frequencies to each frequency set based at least on aconfigurable amplitude threshold, wherein digital samples of theelectronic sound signal having an amplitude below the configurableamplitude threshold are excluded.
 28. The method of claim 23, whereinthe generating user-apprehendable content comprises generating fordisplay on a display device a visual representation of one or more ofthe multiple amplitude sequences.
 29. The method of claim 28, whereinthe generating for display further comprises generating for displaymeasurements corresponding to the displayed one or more amplitudesequences on the display device.
 30. The method of claim 29, wherein themeasurements comprise: frequency values for each frequency for which anamplitude is being displayed by the display process.
 31. The method ofclaim 29, wherein the measurements comprise: a repetition count for eachfrequency value for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess.
 32. The method of claim 29, wherein the measurements comprise:a total number of frames for which an amplitude is being displayed bythe display process.
 33. The method of claim 29, wherein themeasurements comprise: an identification of a strongest frequency forwhich an amplitude is being displayed by the display process, whereinthe strongest frequency is a frequency with the highest sum ofamplitudes from all amplitude sequences being displayed on the displaydevice.
 34. The method of claim 29, wherein the measurements comprise:an identification of a single frequency for which an amplitude is beingdisplayed by the display process in longest unbroken succession acrossframes of an amplitude sequence.
 35. The method of claim 29, wherein themeasurements comprise: a frequency having the maximum amplitude offrequencies for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess; and the maximum amplitude.
 36. The method of claim 29, whereinthe measurements comprise: a total count of amplitude oscillationspresent in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence.
 37. The methodof claim 36, wherein the total count of amplitude oscillations is basedat least on a configurable oscillation amplitude threshold.
 38. Themethod of claim 29, wherein the measurements comprise: a total count offrequencies present in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence. 39.The method of claim 29, wherein the measurements comprise: a total countof error frames corresponding to the displayed one or more amplitudesequences.
 40. The method of claim 29, wherein the measurementscomprise: a total count of increasing frames in a first part of thedisplayed one or more amplitude sequences.
 41. The method of claim 29,wherein the measurements comprise: a total count of decreasing frames ina first part of the displayed one or more amplitude sequences.
 42. Themethod of claim 28, wherein the generating user-apprehendable contentcomprises displaying a user control for selecting, individually orcollectively, one or more of the multiple amplitude sequences fordisplay on the display device.
 43. The method of claim 28, wherein thegenerating for display on a display device comprises providing a usercontrol for zooming in on a portion of a displayed one or more amplitudesequences.
 44. The method of claim 23, wherein the generatinguser-apprehendable content based on the multiple amplitude sequencescomprises: testing the at least one amplitude sequence to generatemeasurements and comparing the measurements to one or more respectivethreshold parameters to generate a sound detection score; and generatingfor a user a representation of the sound detection score.
 45. Anon-transitory processor-readable medium embodying a computer programfor processing electronic audio signals, the computer programcomprising: program code for receiving digital samples of an electronicaudio signal; program code for allocating sequences of the digitalsamples of the electronic audio signal to respective frames; programcode for processing the digital samples by frame thereby to register,for each of the frames, a respective frequency set; program code forfiltering frequencies of each frequency set into a respective one of aplurality of orders based on relative prominence; program code forgenerating multiple amplitude sequences based on the orders, eachamplitude sequence n respectively comprising a sequence of amplitudes ofthe nth-order frequency content in the frames; and program code forgenerating user-apprehendable content for a user interface based on themultiple amplitude sequences.
 46. The non-transitory processor-readablemedium of claim 45, wherein the program code for allocating comprisesprogram code for allocating a number of digital samples to respectiveframes based on a configurable sampling rate and a configurablefrequency transform buffer size.
 47. The non-transitoryprocessor-readable medium of claim 45, wherein the program code forallocating comprises program code for allocating a number of frequenciesto each frequency set based at least on a configurable number offrequencies per frame.
 48. The non-transitory processor-readable mediumof claim 45, wherein the program code for allocating comprises programcode for allocating a number of frequencies to each frequency set basedat least on a configurable frequency bandwidth.
 49. The non-transitoryprocessor-readable medium of claim 45, wherein the program code forallocating comprises program code for allocating a number of frequenciesto each frequency set based at least on a configurable amplitudethreshold, wherein digital samples of the electronic sound signal havingan amplitude below the configurable amplitude threshold are excluded.50. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 45, whereinthe program code for generating user-apprehendable content comprisesprogram code for generating for display on a display device a visualrepresentation of one or more of the multiple amplitude sequences. 51.The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 50, wherein theprogram code for generating for display further comprises program codefor generating for display measurements corresponding to the displayedone or more amplitude sequences on the display device.
 52. Thenon-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 51, wherein themeasurements comprise: frequency values for each frequency for which anamplitude is being displayed by the display process.
 53. Thenon-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 51, wherein themeasurements comprise: a repetition count for each frequency value forwhich an amplitude is being displayed by the display process.
 54. Thenon-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 51, wherein themeasurements comprise: a total number of frames for which an amplitudeis being displayed by the display process.
 55. The non-transitoryprocessor-readable medium of claim 51, wherein the measurementscomprise: an identification of a strongest frequency for which anamplitude is being displayed by the display process, wherein thestrongest frequency is a frequency with the highest sum of amplitudesfrom all amplitude sequences being displayed on the display device. 56.The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 51, wherein themeasurements comprise: an identification of a single frequency for whichan amplitude is being displayed by the display process in longestunbroken succession across frames of an amplitude sequence.
 57. Thenon-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 51, wherein themeasurements comprise: a frequency having the maximum amplitude offrequencies for which an amplitude is being displayed by the displayprocess; and the maximum amplitude.
 58. The non-transitoryprocessor-readable medium of claim 51, wherein the measurementscomprise: a total count of amplitude oscillations present in thedisplayed one or more amplitude sequence.
 59. The non-transitoryprocessor-readable medium of claim 58, wherein the total count ofamplitude oscillations is based at least on a configurable oscillationamplitude threshold.
 60. The non-transitory processor-readable medium ofclaim 51, wherein the measurements comprise: a total count offrequencies present in the displayed one or more amplitude sequence. 61.The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 51, wherein themeasurements comprise: a total count of error frames corresponding tothe displayed one or more amplitude sequences.
 62. The non-transitoryprocessor-readable medium of claim 51, wherein the measurementscomprise: a total count of increasing frames in a first part of thedisplayed one or more amplitude sequences.
 63. The non-transitoryprocessor-readable medium of claim 51, wherein the measurementscomprise: a total count of decreasing frames in a first part of thedisplayed one or more amplitude sequences.
 64. The non-transitoryprocessor-readable medium of claim 50, wherein the program code forgenerating user-apprehendable content comprises program code fordisplaying a user control for selecting, individually or collectively,one or more of the multiple amplitude sequences for display on thedisplay device.
 65. The non-transitory processor-readable medium ofclaim 50, wherein the program code for generating for display on adisplay device comprises program code for providing a user control forzooming in on a portion of a displayed one or more amplitude sequences.66. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 45, whereinthe program code for generating user-apprehendable content based on themultiple amplitude sequences comprises: program code for testing the atleast one amplitude sequence to generate measurements and comparing themeasurements to one or more respective threshold parameters to generatea sound detection score; and program code for generating for a user arepresentation of the sound detection score.